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COPYRIGHT DEPOSn^ 



THE KING 
OF KINGS 



BY 



E. V. ZOLLARS, A. M., LL. D. 

PRESIDENT OF OKLAHOMA 
CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY 

Author of 

"Bible Geography," "The Great Salvation," 

"Hebrew Prophecy," "The Word of 

Truth," "The Commission 

Executed," etc. 



cincinnati, ohio 
The Standard Publishing Company 

1911 






Copyright, 1911, 
The Standard Publishing Co. 



Cci.A30()6n6 



To Claudia Zollars Page, my beloved granddaughter, 

who by her presence has brought so much joy 

and brightness into our home, this volume 

is affectionately dedicated, w^ith the 

earnest hope and prayer that she 

may ever be a loyal subject 

and devoted follower of 

*'The King of 

Kings." 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGES 

Predictive Prophecy Defended i- 12 

Conflict over predictive prophecy; its peculiar signifi- 
cance I 

Was predictive prophecy w^ritten after the events oc- 
curred ? 2 

The Montanistic theory of prophecy 3 

The naturalistic theory of prophecy 6 

Bible prophecies as distinguished from heathen oracles 9 
Heathen divination and Bible prophecy start from 

same point 10 

All attacks on prophecy failures 11 

CHAPTER H. 

The Doctrine of Christ's Divinity Set Forth 13- 21 

Jesus of Nazareth the most colossal figure in history. . 13 

Two ways by which Jesus might be dethroned 14 

The divinity of Christ the vitalizing truth 15 

Terrible results would follow the blotting out of Christ 16 
The divinity of Christ involved in working out the 

purpose of God 18 

What the divine purpose is and how shown 18 

It must be shown that Christ fulfilled the Messianic 

ideal 20 

CHAPTER HI. 

The Argument Based on Certain Characteristics of 

Christ's Kingdom 22- s~ 

Adverse judgment as to the claims of Christ demands 

that the character of his kingdom be considered. ... 22 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

PAGES 

A divine Christ demanded by the nature of the king- 
dom 23 

Jesus and his apostles claimed that he fulfilled Mes- 
sianic prophecy 26 

Christ asserts his own divinity; he claimed pre-ex- 
istence 30 

He claimed the prerogatives of God 31 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Argument Based on the Prophecy of Daniel 2i3- 53 

Real purpose of predictive prophecy 2>2> 

Daniel's prayer and his perplexities concerning his 

people 35 

Gabriel's message to Daniel 36 

Specification of the prophecy of Gabriel to Daniel 39 

The historic fulfillment of the predictions 45 

Note concerning Sir Robert Anderson's argument.... 53 

CHAPTER V. 

Prophecies Concerning Incidents in Christ's Life 54- 68 

Prophecies concerning the first and the second Adam, 54 

The lineage of the Messiah foretold 55 

Two genealogies : Matthew, Luke 57 

The tribe of the Messiah foretold 59 

The harbinger of Jesus foretold 60 

The place of the nativity foretold 60 

The virgin birth foretold 61 

The anointing by the Holy Spirit foretold 64 

The place of the beginning of Christ's ministry fore- 
told 65 

The coming of Christ to the temple foretold 65 

The glory reflected on the temple foretold 66 

Christ's miracle-working power foretold 67 

The triumphal entry foretold 67 

The betrayal foretold 68 

CHAPTER VI. 

Prophecies Concerning Christ's Nature, Characteris- 
tics AND Offices 69- 82 



CONTENTS ix 

PAGES 

Christ's divine nature foretold 69 

Christ's personal characteristics foretold..., 70 

Christ's office of Prophet foretold jt, 

Christ's office of Priest foretold 75 

Christ's office of King foretold yy 

Christ's office of Lawgiver foretold 78 

Christ's office of Judge foretold 80 

CHAPTER VII. 

Prophecies Concerning Christ's Death, Burial, Resur- 
rection AND Ascension 83-94 

Death of Christ prefigured in type 83 

Christ's rejection by the Jews foretold 84 

Christ's betrayal foretold 85 

Many incidents of the crucifixion foretold 85 

The resurrection of Christ foretold 88 

Did Jesus rise from the dead ? 89 

The ascensioti of Christ foretold 92 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Prophecies Concerning Christ's Kingdom 95-104 

Christ's kingdom a unique conception 95 

The place where the kingdom began foretold 96 

The time when the kingdom began foretold 97 

The spiritual character of the kingdom foretold 98 

The universality of the kingdom foretold 100 

The conquering power of the King foretold 102 

The eternity of the kingdom foretold 104 

CPIAPTER IX. 

Christianity a Supernatural System : Nature and 

Purpose of Miracle 105-1 14 

Christianity a supernatural system or a fraud 105 

Four words used to designate miracles 106 

Numerous definitions of miracle 108 

The miraculous no more wonderful than the natural.. 109 
Miracles require no greater power than is displayed 
in nature 109 



X CONTENTS 

PAGES 

God speaks in nature at all times, in miracle at special 

times 1 10 

The natural begins in the supernatural no 

The natural may become miraculous in 

The miraculous not against nature in 

If miracle is impossible revelation is impossible 112 

Denial of miracle involves denial of God 112 

Miracles are not repugnant to experience 113 

Denial of miracle leads to denial of everything but 
the natural 114 

CHAPTER X. 

Christ's Miracles : Their Unique Character and Pur- 
pose 1 15-126 

A presumption in favor of Christ's miracles 115 

Christ's miracles contrasted with Old Testament mir- 
acles 117 

Christ the source of his own miracles 118 

Christ's miracles distinguished from false miracles. . .119 
Christ's miracles show God's power in mineral king- 
dom 119 

Christ's miracles show God's power over inanimate 

nature ; 120 

Christ's miracles show God's power over natural laws. 120 
Christ's miracles show God's power over vegetable 

life 120 

Christ's miracles show God's power over animal life.. 120 
Christ's miracles show God's power over dead animal 

and vegetable matter 121 

Christ's miracles show God's power over disease 121 

Christ's miracles show God's power over death 122 

Christ's miracles show God's power over evil spirits.. 122 
Christ shows God's power in reading the thoughts of 

men 123 

Christ shows God's power in laying down and taking 

up his life 123 

Christ's miracles an ascending series 125 



CONTENTS xi 



CHAPTER XL 

PAGES 

Christ Occupies the Central Place in History 127-136 

Christ the center of religious movement ..127 

Positive and negative Hnes of preparation for Christ.. 128 

Christ the center of the secular movement 128 

The destruction of antediluvian world first negative 

step 128 

Egypt furnishes the second step 129 

The part played by the great nations of the Euphrates 

valley 130 

The preparation furnished by the Hebrew nation. .. .131 

The intellectual preparation for the Messiah 132 

The political preparation for the Messiah .133 

The expectancy created and destruction of world's 

hope 133 

Christ at the focal point of diverging lines of history. 134 
Memorial institutions of Christ : Religious history 

since Christ 134 

Secular history since Christ 135 

CHAPTER XH. 

The Divinity of Christ as Proven by His Wonderful 

Personality 137-147 

Christ's miracles and his inner life in perfect har- 
mony 138 

Christ's fidelity to his claim under all circumstances. ..139 
Christ's claim vindicated by testimony of his cotempo- 

raries 140 

Christ's claim vindicated by his personal influence. ... 140 
Christ's claim supported by opposite extremes which 

his life presents izI2 

Christ's claim proven by universality of his nature. ... 143 
Christ's claim proven by his complete revelation of 

God 143 

Christ's claim supported by the demands he makes on 

men 144 

Christ's claim proven by his wonderful achievements. . 145 



xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XIII. 

PAGES 

Benefits and Fruits of Christ's Dominant Thoughts. 148-168 

Every system must be judged by its fruits 148 

World made by certain dominant thoughts 148 

The dominant thoughts prior to Christ: the God idea. 149 

The religious conceptions prior to Christ 150 

The conception of man prior to Christ 150 

The dominant thoughts of Christ: the angels' song.. 151 

The God idea furnished in Jesus Christ 152 

Christ's idea concerning religion 154 

Christ's idea concerning man 156 

Results of Christ's thoughts : religious results 157 

Christ's thoughts have given larger measure of free- 
dom 157 

Christ's thoughts have given new social economy 159 

Christ's thoughts have given us the sisterhood of 

nations 160 

The effects of Christ's idea of man on education : free 

school 162 

New analysis of man 163 

General quickening of intellectual life 160 

Christ's dominant thoughts have elevated public 
morals 167 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Divinity of Christ Proven by His Mental Superiority. 170-185 

Christ's profound insight into human nature 170 

Comparison of Christ's method with philosophers' 

method 171 

Christ's teaching : the subject-matter 176 

Christ's method of teaching 176 

Christ's teaching free from mistakes. 178 

The universality of Christ's teaching 178 

Christ's teaching exceedingly practical 179 

Christ's purpose : its greatness 181 

The originality of Christ's purpose 182 

Christ's method of work : he did not use force nor 

offer temporal rewards 183 

He did not select the worldly great 184 

He was perfectly fearless 184 



CONTENTS xiii 

CHAPTER XV. 

PAGES 

Christ's Divinity Shown by Certain Superhuman Pe- 
culiarities 186-205 

Christ could sink family ties in the great bond of 

brotherhood 186 

Christ's conception of larger relationship 188 

Christ announced his relationship to the human 

family 189 

Christ's wonderful penetration 189 

Christ's penetration shown in dealing with multitudes. 191 
Christ's penetration shown in dealing with a willing 

follower ■ 192 

Christ's penetration shown in dealing with one mani- 
festing a deep parental obligation 193 

Christ's penetration shown in dealing with an earnest 

inquirer 194 

Christ declared the principle on which honors in 

future world are given 196 

Three mistakes made by ambitious woman and her 

sons 197 

Gradations in rank in the future world 198 

Christ's inherent authority 200 

Inherent authority shown in Sermon on the Mount.. 201 
Inherent authority shown when about to be mobbed.. 202 
Inherent authority shown when about to be arrested. ,202 

Inherent authority shown when before Pilate 203 

Christ's standard of greatness 204 

Christ measured his claims by the standard he set up 
for others 205 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Christ's Triumph Over Human Cunning 206-219 

Depraved human nature always the same 208 

Human cunning attempting to overthrow divine wis- 
dom 208 

Those engaged in the attempt and their motive 209 

The nature of the attack and its cause 210 

Christ's answers to his questioners : The general char- 
acter 213 



xiv CONTENTS 

PAGES 

The specific answers: Answer to the Pharisees 214 

Answer to the Sadducees .214 

A second attempt of the Pharisees 216 

The strange request of the Pharisees 217 

Jesus becomes questioner 219 

Christianity can ask the hardest questions 219 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The Argument Based on the Fact that the Principles 
Operating in Christ's Kingdom Are in Accord 

WITH Practical Principles in General 220-236 

All truth is from God 220 

Christ's two wonderful claims 221 

Christ's kingdom, like all other kingdoms, began in a 

small way ; its vitality p . 221 

Christ's method of work the method of success 225 

The silent power at work in Christ's kingdom like unto 

the silent forces of nature 226 

Christ meets man's spiritual needs as nature meets 

man's physical wants 229 

Christ, like nature, demands all in order to success. .. .231 
In Christ's kingdom, as in nature, the will of God is 

supreme 233 

The work of Christ foreordained to ultimate success.. 234 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Argument Based on the Fact that Christ Al- 
ways Spoke and Acted in a Manner Worthy of 

His Claim 237-257 

Jesus put forth the greatest claims ever made; did he 

measure up to them ? 237 

The scene in the temple where Christ disputed with the 

lawyers and doctors 238 

The occasion of Christ's baptism 240 

The temptation in the wilderness 242 

The Sermon on the Mount 245 

The mount of transfiguration 247 

Christ's meeting with the woman of Samaria 248 



CONTENTS XV 

PAGES 

Christ's unalterable decision to go up to Jerusalem and 

suffer 25 1 

The words of comfort Christ spoke to his disciples. ...253 

The giving of the commission 255 

The ascension and coronation 256 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The Argument Based on Christ's Achievements 258-272 

Christ's triumph over opposing powers 259 

Judaism as an opposing power 260 

Paganism as an opposing power 262 

Heresy as an opposing power 263 

Barbarian hordes as an opposing power 263 

Islam as an opposing power 264 

Infidelity as an opposing power 265 

Sectarianism as an opposing power 266 

The benefits and blessings that Christ has conferred.. .267 

The political benefits 267 

Influence on mental culture 267 

Effect of Christianity on general moral life 268 

The social effects of Christianity 270 

The eleemosynary effect of Christianity 271 



PREFACE 



IT is the purpose of this volume to set forth Hues 
of argument for the divinity of our Lord. The 
task that I have tried to perform is one from which 
I shrank in the beginning, but the work grew upon me 
as I advanced, and I have found no little satisfaction 
in formulating the arguments herein presented. The 
growing importance of the subject has impelled me 
forward; not that the subject has not been discussed 
by others. On the contrary, there are many able, 
learned works that have been written, more merito- 
rious than this little volume, as I am fully aware. 
Then you may ask, why have you undertaken such a 
task? I answer, because I feel that possibly if I do 
not present new arguments I may bring forward old 
ones in a somewhat new dress, and cause some to 
re-examine the foundations of their faith. I trust that 
I have marshaled old facts, if not in a new, at any 
rate in a forceful way. At least, I present arguments, 
if old in substance, yet in a way that strikes my own 
mind with force, and perchance other minds may be 
similarly impressed. 

In my work in the training of young men for the 
ministry I am more and more convinced as the years 
go by of the vital, fundamental need of a deep, 
abiding, unalterable faith in the divinity of our Lord, 
in him who would be a minister of the Word. Any 

weakness at this point is fatal. Would I could per- 
(2) xvii 



xviii PREFACE 

suade every preacher, who dees not believe profoundly 
in the divinity of Christ, in the ordinary and com- 
monly accepted meaning of that phrase, to leave the 
pulpit at once^ for the cause of Christ v^^ould be 
stronger w^ithout him. Or, better still, would that I 
could lead all vacillating ones, who are hesitating 
and doubting respecting this vital doctrine, into a 
large, strong, abiding faith in the divinity, yea, deity 
of Him who came to reveal the Father unto us. Here 
is the heart of the whole matter. Whatever else may 
be surrendered, this can never be. The idea that the 
future church must be broad enough to make room 
for those who do not accept the divinity of Christ is 
as pernicious as it is false, and those who advocate 
it show themselves void of an understanding of the 
real nature of the religion of the Master. I would 
not be uncharitable, but it is not charity to consent 
that the corner-stone of the church of Christ shall 
be removed. I would not be narrow, but it is not 
breadth to make Christ a m.ere man, no matter how 
much of greatness may be ascribed to him. The nar- 
rowness is chargeable against those who deny His 
divinity. If in producing this book I add nothing 
to the strength of the argument, either in matter or 
form, at least I shall ease my own conscience in that 
I have declared the undying conviction of my soul 
concerning a matter which I deem to be vital. 
Furthermore, I have formulated the arguments in the 
way best suited to my own work in the classroom. 
He teaches best who puts his own individuality into 
his work, and I hope this little volume mav in some 
degree reflect my own mental peculiarities, I had 
almost said idiosyncrasies, otherwise it would have 
no power. 



PREFACE xix 

Source of the Material. 

I wish to speak of the sources of my own inspira- 
tion, and of the thoughts which I have penned. The 
origin of many of these thoughts T do not now recall. 
The arguments have been lodged in my mind little 
by little during all the years of my school life. Some 
have come from great sermons, preached by some of 
the giants of the pulpit. To separate these arguments 
out and assign each to its proper source is now im- 
possible. Most of my authorities I have noted by 
appropriate reference in the proper place. I will 
enumerate a few works here that 1 have not hesitated 
to lay under tribute whenever they offered material 
suited to my purpose : 

Parker's "People's Bible," especially volumes on 
Matthew, I have found very stimulating and helpful, 
and not a few thoughts from this source have found 
their way into some of the chapters. ''Gesta Christi," 
by Charles Loring Brace, has furnished valuable ma- 
terial used in two or three chapters. "The Divine 
Origin of Christianity," by Storrs, has also been laid 
under tribute in certain places. "The Witness of 
History to Christ," by Farrar, has furnished facts and 
suggestions used in at least one chapter. "The Man 
of Galilee," by Haygood, has contributed helpful 
thoughts used in several places. 

Some of the tracts in "The Infidel Library," by 
Hastings, have furnished pertinent and important 
facts. "The Prophecies of Jesus," by Matterson, and 
"The Prophecy of Daniel," by Uriah Smith, both of 
the Sabbatarian school, were helpful in fixing dates 
and specifications in the chapter on Daniel's prophecy. 
"Daniel in the Critics' Den," by Sir Robert Anderson, 



XX PREFACE 

also assisted me in that chapter, by furnishing cor- 
roborative proof in a general way. "Pusey on Daniel," 
I also found useful. Everest's "Divine Demonstra- 
tion" was of assistance in preparing certain chapters. 
''Evidences of Christianity," Mcllvaine, I found useful 
in discussing miracles. ''Christianity Triumphant," 
Newmon, furnished forceful statistics. "Briggs' Mes- 
sianic Prophecy" was especially helpful in preparing 
Chapter I. "Miracles of Our Lord," Trench, contrib- 
uted to the chapter on miracles, as viewed from dif- 
ferent standpoints. "The New Era," Strong, lent 
helpful thoughts and suggestions used in several 
chapters. "The Human Race and Other Sermons," 
Robertson, contributed to one or more chapters. 
"Problems of Religious Progress," Dorchester, I found 
useful in discussing the effects of Christianity. 

Most of these have been cited specifically, and 
there may be other works that have received no men- 
tion through failure of memory. If familiar thought 
or phraseology is found not properly credited, the 
omission is not intentional. I have no desire to claim 
anything for myself to which I am not entitled. I 
only trust the book may receive a careful reading by 
those into whose hands it falls, and that the argu- 
ments may be given the weight that they deserve. 
If I shall have assisted in removing doubts from any 
honest mind, or shall have strengthened the faith of 
some, my most ardent wish will have been gratified. 
The book is sent forth on whatever mission God has 
in store for it, and may his blessing attend it.' 



THE KING OF KINGS 



CHAPTER I. 
Predictive Prophecy Defended/^ 

For ages a fierce conflict has been raging over the 
predictive prophecies of the Old and New Testaments. 
Numerous have been the attempts on the part of the 
foes of our holy Bible to overthrow its prophecies. 
This has been one of the chief points of attack. Here 
some of the most stubborn battles have been fought, 
nor has the war ceased even unto the present time. 

This conflict has peculiar significance. If the 
prophecies of the Old and New Testament remain 
unshaken, the battle for Christianity is won. To 
overthrow Christianity these prophecies must be dis- 
credited. Realizing this, the foes of Christianity have 
massed their batteries and brought them to bear on 
this point. Every possible means, both fair and foul, 
has been used for the capture of this stronghold of 
Christian faith. It is greatly to be regretted that the 
Christian ministry of the present day make such small 
use of the prophetic argument. Is it because they 
shrink from the battle with rationalism and agnos- 

* In preparing this chapter I found ''Messianic Prophecy," 
by Briggs, very helpful. 



2 THE KING OF KINGS 

ticism? Are they unaware of the strength and potency 
of the argument they are so sadly neglecting? Such 
was not the custom of the primitive preachers of the 
cross. The apostles of our Lord used the argument 
from prophecy with telling effect, and it can be used 
to-day with equal power by those who are skillful in 
handling it. It will be helpful to consider some of 
the leading forms of attack, which the enemies of 
revealed religion are making upon the predictive por- 
tions of God's Word. 

I. The claim has been boldly put forth that pre- 
dictive prophecy was written after the events occurred. 

1. This simply means that all prophecy is history, 
or, in other words, that the predictions are records 
of accomplished facts. To sustain this assumption, 
the most clearly established dates of many of the 
prophecies are disregarded or denied. Likewise the 
most undeniable facts of authorship are set aside by 
methods and arguments of the most grotesque and 
fanciful kind. The whole attempt has been a most 
conspicuous and inglorious failure. None of the pre- 
dictions have been discredited, but, on the contrary, 
the canons of criticism employed by the opponents 
have been shown to be utterly untrustworthy. We 
may even go further and say the attempt has served 
to strengthen the claims of revealed religion. It is 
in reality an admission of the accurate fulfillment of 
prophecy, otherwise the claim that the prophecy was 
made subsequent to the event would have no force. 
It reveals the weakness of the opposition, and shows 
to what straits the enemies are driven to sustain their 
contention. It furthermore shows the lack of candor 
and fairness that has characterized many of the foes 
of the Bible, but this has been the kind of opposition 



THE MONTANISTIC THEORY 3 

that the friends of the Bible have had to meet from 
the beginning down to the present time. 

2. This attack has not aroused the slightest 
anxiety on the part of believers. Christian scholar- 
ship has been able to triumphantly answer the argu- 
ments put forth and show their absurd and fallacious 
character. In fact, but a very insignificant portion 
of predictive prophecy can possibly be touched by 
this criticism, and even against this small portion the 
attack is very weak. Christianity could throw away 
every passage, against the commonly accepted date 
of which even a semblance of argument can be made, 
and still there remains a vast multitude of prophecies 
which have been accurately fulfilled, and which no 
sane man can claim were written after the events 
occurred. The prophecies of Daniel furnish notable 
examples. All this tends to produce a feeling of con- 
fidence that is most gratifying. It also begets an 
expectation of a final glorious triumph. 

II. The Montanistic theory has been adopted by 
the objectors in order to overthrow Bible prophecy. 

1. This theory was originally adopted by believers 
in the divine nature of prophecy. Montanus was an 
early convert to Christianity. Having been a priest 
of Cybele, he seems to have retained some of his 
pagan notions. He fell into fits of ecstasy, and pro- 
fessed to receive revelations when in this condition. 
He became the founder of a sect, but his doctrines 
were subversive of Christianity. The believers in this 
theory accept the claims of Montanus, and others of 
his class, and place all prophecy on this basis, and 
thus fail to discriminate between the different kinds 
of prediction. 

The theory stated in full will give us a better 



4 THE KING OF KINGS 

understanding of the controversy. The prophet is 
held to be a passive instrument of the Divine Spirit. 
The ecstatic state, with its visions, is the essential 
feature of prophecy. The prophet sees and hears 
things exterior to himself when in this condition, 
being simply a passive instrument acted on by an 
external agent which is held to be the Spirit of God. 
The advocates of this theory cite many Bible exam- 
ples — Gideon, Samson, Jephtha, Saul, Balaam — in 
proof of their contention. 

The opponents of Bible prophecy accept all this 
theory claims, except the doctrine of divine influence, 
which they hold to be a delusion in all cases. The 
peculiar physical condition into which the prophet is 
thrown is assumed to result from some natural cause, 
or artificial excitement^ but all supernatural infl^uence 
is denied. 

2. This theory is in part correct, but it fails to 
account for all the phenomena of prophecy. It may 
be freely admitted that this form of prophecy does 
occur. There are numerous cases recorded. This is, 
however, only a species of a more general class, and 
by no means covers the ground ; nor is it the most 
important form of prophecy. There is a higher form 
in which God speaks to the prophet, face to face. 
(Num. 12:6-8.) Also a form of spiritual illumination 
which is very common. The cases of this lower form 
of prophecy are very few compared with the higher 
and more general forms. This theory, like very many 
false theories, is the result of a very imperfect induc- 
tion. A few cases are considered, but the prevailing 
class is lost sight of. This lowest form, however, was 
genuine, and characterized by a supernatural element. 
The presence of God is clearly shown, even where 



THE MONTANISTIC THEORY S 

the prophet was a mere passive agent and the vision 
or dream an object of internal sight. The mere 
physical condition, it is true, closely resembled that 
produced by natural causes, or even artificial causes, 
but the results are very different. The revelation 
itself has the divine stamp upon it. There is also an 
interpreting voice which guides the inner eye to see 
and understand what otherwise could not be known. 
No matter what possibilities may be claimed for the 
ecstatic state, produced from natural causes, the rev- 
elations of Bible prophets clearly transcend the utmost 
claims of all such so-called revelations. 

3. There is no a priori reason why God could not 
use the ecstatic state for genuine revelations. If the 
state can be superinduced by natural or artificial 
causes, that is no reason why God could not bring it 
on through the agency of the Spirit, and communicate 
to the individual his message, while in that condition, 
ii in his wisdom he saw fit to do so. The same argu- 
ment holds good with respect to the supernatural 
dream. If dreams occur from natural causes, why not 
from supernatural, if God should so elect? Of course, 
the supernatural character must be clearly marked, 
in any case, as was no doubt the case in the Bible 
examples.* 

4. The attempts made to show that this form of 
prophecy is a delusion, and the condition the result 
of natural causes, have utterly failed. The physical 
condition, although resembling the epileptic or ecstatic 
state, is yet very different. It is never the result of 
disease. It is never caused artificially as in the case 
of the false prophets and diviners. The prophet is 

* For a fuller discussion see the author's work, entitled 
"Hebrew Prophecy." 



6 THE KING OF KINGS 

taken possession of by an external agent, without his 
own desire or solicitation. The revelations of the true 
prophet are very different from those given by persons 
in the ordinary ecstatic state. They are in character 
entirely worthy of their claim as to their divine origin, 
while the others are not. 

5. The conclusion of the whole matter may be 
summed up as follows: (1) The Montanistic theory 
points to a certain class of genuine prophecies, but it 
fails to account for by far the largest and most im- 
portant class. This does not mean that the claims of 
Montanus were true, but that the ecstatic state is a 
genuine prophetic state when not artificially or patho- 
logically produced. (2) It renders no service whatever 
to the opponents of revealed religion, since it fails to 
eliminate the supernatural element. (3) The attempt 
of rationalists to explain all prophecy by this theory 
has only served to show the broad distinction between 
the true and the false. 

III. The naturalistic theory of prophecy is adopted 
by some of the opponents of predictive prophecy. 

1. This line of opposition proceeds as follows: It 
ignores the form of prophecy just spoken of, and starts 
with the highest phase of prophecy that is found 
among the heathen, which is simply an accurate fore- 
cast. It calls to mind the wondrous powers of insight 
and foresight shown by men of genius, and makes 
this account for all predictions that have been ful- 
filled. It points out the fact that men of great mental 
grasp comprehend the present, see the relation of 
things, and accurately trace cause and efifect, and are 
thus in a measure enabled to foretell the future. Pre- 
diction is held to be a forecast, based on an accurate 
calculation of causal relations and discoverable ten- 



THE NATURALISTIC THEORY 7 

dencies of things in general. This theory places the 
Hebrew prophets on this plane of human genius, ac- 
cording to them a higher grade because of their higher 
religious conceptions. They are held to differ simply 
in degree, but not in kind, from all men of genius. 

2. This manner of accounting for Bible predic- 
tions comes far short of accounting for all the known 
facts. It is true that the products and achievements 
of genius may be accounted for without the introduc- 
tion of any extraordinary divine influence, but the 
productions of the Hebrew prophets can not be ex- 
plained without taking into the account the divine 
factor. The Hebrew prophet shares in the element 
of genius, as do the prophets of other religions, but 
after subtracting this element there is a product left 
to the credit of the Hebrew prophets, which stands 
out clearly as the gift of the Divine Spirit. The 
sublimest feats of human genius have never accom- 
plished the wonders performed by Hebrew prophets. 
These achievements are as much superior to the feats 
of unaided genius as God is superior to man. The 
fifty-third chapter of Isaiah stands as a notable ex- 
ample. Many others might be cited. The corre- 
spondences are so exact in many instances as to drive 
the opponents to claim that the predictions were 
written after the events occurred, which, however, is 
untenable. 

The superiority is shown by difference in form, 
difference in content and in entire conformity to 
truth. Comparing its sublime heights of conception 
and vast reaches of comprehension with the products 
oi genius, is like comparing the light of the stars with 
that of the noonday sun. The loftiest heights to 
which human genius has climbed, as compared with 



8 THE KING OF KINGS 

the proud eminence on which Jewish prophets stand, 
are but as little hillocks compared to Alpine summits 
capped with eternal snows, and that glisten in the 
sunlight undimmed by cloud or tempest. 

3. The points that distinguish Bible prophecy 
from human foresight are very evident: 

(1) In all cases of human foresight there are data 
to proceed upon, elements of calculation, which lead 
to certain results. The calculation may be compli- 
cated, yet a master mind may reach a solution as 
regards many great problems of life, and forecast with 
tolerable certainty great and far-reaching future 
events. 

(2) In Bible prophecy there are no data on which 
to proceed. Often the prophecies relate to events in 
the distant future, to persons unborn, to nations not 
yet in existence, and often the events foretold are 
directly the opposite of what human wisdom and 
sagacity would predict. In such cases the predictions 
are entirely beyond the powers of genius. The 
phenomena lie wholly outside of the unaided vision 
of mortal man. Take, for example, the predictions 
concerning Nineveh and Babylon uttered when these 
kingdoms were at the height of power and glory. No 
possible human prescience could foresee their utter 
overthrow, and even if that were possible their per- 
petual desolation could not have been foretold. Many 
other examples might be mentioned, but further speci- 
fication is not necessary at this point. 

(3) The Bible prophets were in conscious posses- 
sion of an intelligence more than human. This fact 
is of great value. They constantly used this formula: 
''Thus saith the Lord;" ''The Lord spake unto me;" 
"The word that came from the Lord;" or, in the case 



BIBLE PROPHECY AND HEATHEN ORACLES 9 

of a lower form of prophecy, "The vision which the 
Lord caused me to see." They never claimed that 
they were giving forth the product of their own genius, 
but they always gave their utterances as a divine 
revelation. That they spoke falsely we can not 
believe, nor could they have been deceived. 

IV. Bible prophecies are easily distinguished from 
heathen oracles, although placed on the same plane by 
some opponents of revelation. 

1. The characteristics of heathen oracles are such 
as deny to them any real value. (1) They were 
accompanied by a great amount of artifice. (2) They 
were secretly divulged. (3) They were rarely de- 
livered, and then great preparation was made. (4) 
They ministered to the passions and wishes of men. 
(5) They were expressed in equivocal language. (6) 
Their fulfillment depended on chance. (7) They were 
as often wrong as right, and the failure was always 
charged to some error in ^"he inquirer. If any pre- 
diction of heathen oracle was of such a nature as 
to indicate divine origin, this fact would not over- 
throw Bible prophecy, but would simply show that 
occasionally for his own wise purposes God might 
have used these agencies for the utterance of his 
message. But this is a hypothetical statement in- 
tended to show the futility of such an argument as 
making against Bible prophecy. 

2. Characteristics of Bible prophecy placed in 
contrast show their immense superiority. (1) They 
were openly published. (2) They were delivered 
without solicitation. (3) They were expressed in no 
artful language. (4) The events predicted were 
beyond the power of human sagacity and foresight. 
Even when the general event might have been fore- 



10 THE KING OF KINGS 

seen, yet minute details were added, which were 
beyond the power of human knowledge. The par- 
ticularity of Bible prophecy places it far beyond the 
conjectures of wise men or the utmost reach of 
human wisdom or sagacity. (5) They were minutely 
fulfilled, except when delivered with a hortatory pur- 
pose, as, for example, Jonah's prophecy against 
Nineveh. 

3. Heathen divination and Bible prophecy start 
from the same point, but proceed in opposite direc- 
tions. Both start with a longing after the Divine ; 
consequently both rest on an acknowledgment of the 
Divine. The moral element is therefore the basis or 
starting-point of all prophecy. Of Bible prophecy 
this is conspicuously true. God, human guilt, human 
responsibility, divine superintendence, are breathed 
in every line of Bible prophecy. This moral element 
lies at the basis of heathen divination ; there is a con- 
scious distance from God and a longing to bridge 
over the gulf that separates, and a desire for divine 
guidance, or at least divine communication. The 
votaries of heathen shrines were not atheists. 

Starting from this point, the opposite directions 
taken are very evident. Heathenism attempted to 
attain its desire, or its answer from God, either by 
divination — external means, such as signs, auguries, 
the stars, necromancy, etc., or by internal states — such 
as dreams or ecstatic visions artificially produced. It 
did not seek fellowship with God as the soul's satis- 
faction, but rather to use the Divine for selfish ends. 
It consequently led away from God. It degraded 
God to the plane of the human instead of lifting the 
human up to the Divine. In this respect it violated 
one of the Bible canons by which prophecy is to be 



BIBLE PROPHECY AND HEATHEN ORACLES H 

tested; it leads away from God. True prophecy leads 
Godward. Thus heathen prophecy stands condemned. 

The exact opposite of this is true in Bible 
prophecy ; here everything comes from God and 
points to him ; it seeks to subordinate human inter- 
est to the divine will rather than to subordinate 
divine will to human interest. In Bible prophecy 
the golden age is future ; it lies in a perfected hu- 
manity. In heathen divination, the golden age is 
past; its movement is, therefore, retrograde. Heathen 
divination led to an abstraction, an impersonal "it" 
called fate. Bible prophecy leads to a personal God, 
an infinite loving Father, a divine incarnation, a 
personal Saviour. Compare Jesus of Nazareth with 
the blind, inexorable fate of stoic philosophy, and 
then see the opposite and wide extremes to which 
these systems led. 

Heathen divination in its methods, products and 
results accords with the supposition that it is false,, 
and can not be explained on the hypothesis that it 
is true. 

4. Finally, it may be emphatically declared that 
all the attacks upon prophecy have been conspicuous 
failures. Never before did revealed religion stand on 
as secure a basis as at the present time. Not one 
single book of the Bible has been overthrown, but,, 
on the contrary, the grounds of credibility have been 
immensely strengthened. Not one great necessary 
truth of revealed religion has been touched ; not one 
simgle important point has been surrendered. 

Never was faith in the Bible so great as at the 
present time, never was it so intelligent, and never 
was it spreading so rapidly. 

The service of infidelity to Christianity has been 



12 THE KING OF KINGS 

twofold; it has helped us to get rid of some human 
traditions and speculations, and it has caused us to 
thoroughly review the grounds of faith. The result 
has been to strengthen and purify faith. We are 
stronger for the battle we have had to fight. Chris- 
tianity enters the twentieth century under most 
favorable conditions, and with most cheering pros- 
pects. Its enemies routed at every point are falling 
into confusion, and the final victory is near. Hence- 
forth, the indications are that the battle that Chris- 
tianity must wage will not be against atheism or 
infidelity in any of its forms; it will not be against 
agnosticism or destructive criticism in any of its 
aspects, but against mammonism, which is now its 
deadliest foe. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Doctrine of Christ's Divinity: Its Funda- 
mental Character and the Nature of 
the Prophetic Argument. 

John 1 : 45 : "We have found him of whom Moses in the 
law and the prophets did write." 

Acts 10:45: "To him gave all the prophets witness." 

1. Jesus of Nazareth is the most colossal figure 
in all history, either sacred or profane. He has ever 
excited the wonder and admiration of all thoughtful 
and observing men: "His name shall be called Won- 
derful" was the prophetic declaration 750 years before 
he was born and the truth of this utterance has been 
demonstrated ever since his advent into the world.. 
He has received the devout worship of the noblest 
and best of our race. The most gigantic minds are 
proud to do Him reverence. He has lived growingly 
as the ages have advanced, which can not be said of 
any other character that ever figured in the world's 
history. Posterity has always given to the true 
reformer a larger place in its affections than was 
awarded to him by his cotemporaries, but this ap- 
preciation has had its limits. The limit of appre- 
ciation for Jesus of Nazareth has never yet been 
reached. He occupies a larger place to-day in the 
world's esteem than ever before. -He fills a larger 
place in the world's thought at the present time than 

i'^) 13 



14 THE KING OF KINGS 

all other historic personages combined. He is deter- 
mining the religious thought and moulding the relig- 
ious life of the world as no other character ever 
did, and at no time more potently than now. Directly 
or indirectly Jesus is wonderfully influencing the lit- 
erature, the art, the politics, the education and the 
social life of the most civilized and advanced nations 
of earth. All that is best to-day in the highest civil- 
izations of the world is directly attributable to him. 

2. There are two conceivable ways by which 
Jesus of Nazareth might be dethroned from the high 
place he occupies in the hearts of men : 

Show that no such person ever lived. This no 
sane man would attempt. Jesus Christ is as truly a 
historic person as the most conspicuous character in 
history. A stronger argument can be framed for the 
mythical character of Julius Caesar than for the myth- 
ical character of Jesus Christ. 

Rob Him of his divinity. On this ground the 
fiercest battles have been fought. Infidelity has left 
no means untried to accompHsh this end. The virgin 
birth, the miracles, the resurrection and even the 
teachings of Christ have all been fiercely assailed 
^rom the time of Celsus in the second century down 
to the latest infidel tirades that have been pro- 
mulgated. Rationalistic Christianity has imagined 
that -the divine element in the Christ life and char- 
acter can be surrendered without vitally affecting 
Christianity. This is a delusive dream ; when this is 
taken away the bulwarks of Christlanit}^ are gone. 
Christ is either divine or nothing. Christianity is a 
supernatural system or a fraud. The one thing 
essential to this system is the divinity of its Founder. 
So Paul reasoned : "If Christ be not raised, your faith 



THE VITALIZING TRUTH 15 

is vain." The resurrection was a demonstration of 
Christ's divinity. He was declared to be the Son 
of God with power "by the resurrection from the 
dead." When Peter said, ''Thou art the Christ, the 
Son of the hving God," Christ said, ''On this rock I 
will build my church," which simply meant on him- 
self as the Son of God, and the confession made by 
Peter embraced this truth. 

It is the purpose of this volume to bring before 
the mind of the reader the leading lines of argument 
in support of this great fundamental, all-embracing 
and vitally important doctrine, viz. : the divinity of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The first line 
of argument will be based on prophecy fulfilled in 
Christ. 

I. The divinity of Christ is the vitalizing truth 
that leads to the acceptance of him as the Lord cf 
life, and it is the foundation of man's highest hopes. 

1. The hopes of the human family center in, and 
cluster around, Jesus of Nazareth. He is the polar 
star of sorrowing men tossed on the tumultuous bil- 
lows of life. He is the only physician that has shown 
himself able to heal the soul's deepest maladies. He 
is the Sun of Righteousness that alone has healing in 
his beams and that shines on with ever-increasing 
luster as the ages advance. He is the only one that 
has a heart large enough to take in the whole human 
family. Some have been able to love a few individ- 
uals ; we call these benevolent men. Some have been 
able to love certain classes ; we call these philanthro- 
pists. Some have been able to love a nation ; we call 
such patriots. But Jesus of Nazareth is the only one 
whose philanthropy overleaped all barriers of race or 
class or nationality and embraced all men irrespective 



16 THE KING OF KINGS 

of any adventitious or ennobling circumstance. This 
is one of his most striking characteristics. 

He is the only one who has had a purpose great 
enough to include the whole human family. Other 
men have embraced limited numbers and certain 
classes in their purpose; other men have singled out 
some one evil and sought a remedy, but Jesus em- 
braced every individual of our race in his purpose, 
and seeks the removal of every evil that afflicts man- 
kind and the fostering of every measure that makes 
for its good. 

He is the only one who has undertaken a world- 
embracing benevolent work, and his wonderful love 
and sublime purpose are only equaled by the mag- 
nificent daring of his undertaking. "Go into all the 
world and preach the gospel to every creature" are 
words such as none of earth's greatest characters ever 
dared to think, much less to utter. The sublime 
audacity of his undertaking is only worthy of a God. 

2. If the Christ of the Bible could be blotted out 
the most terrible results would follow. Have we 
ever tried to imagine just what would be the result 
or to fathom the deplorable consequences that would 
ensue? 

The Bible itself would become a meaningless 
riddle. There Is only one primary person in the Bible. 
Take Him away and highest expectations end in dis- 
appointment; type and symbol are robbed of meaning 
and the book becomes a hopeless chaos, a fantastic 
romance as unsubstantial as the vagaries of the sick 
man's dreams. Its literature would sink to the human 
plane, Its morality would be shorn of its quickening 
power, and Its history would become unimportant and 
void of interest. In fact, the key to history would be 



RESULTS OF BLOTTING OUT CHRIST 17 

lost. The advent of Christ throws a flood of light on 
all previous history. All great historic movements 
converge towards him, and are seen to be the foot- 
prints of God advancing toward the consummation of 
the great purpose which was realized in him. All sub- 
sequent history is colored by him and can only be 
understood as viewed in its relations to him and as 
influenced by him. 

The foundations would be swept from under all 
beneficent institutions. Over against Christianity 
stands infidelity. Look at it, consider it well ; what 
has it done and what is it doing for the world? Where 
are its colleges? There are none. Girard College has 
been claimed as its product, but even Girard College 
is not infidel. Dr. Talmage says, 'T lived near Girard 
seven years; many of her professors are Christian men, 
and there are no better Christian influences found in 
any college." Devotional exercises constitute a part 
of the daily program. Where are the almshouses and 
the organized charities established by infidelity? 
Where are its missionaries? Echo answers, where? 
There stands Jesus, question him. He points to a 
thousand colleges and says, these are mine. He points 
to ten thousand schoolhouses and says, these are 
mine. He points to yonder hospital and says, I was 
sick and ye cured me. He points to yonder home for 
the friendless and says, I was an orphan and ye became 
a mother unto me. 'Tnasmuch as ye have done it unto 
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto 
me." 

The highest motives to pure and holy living would 
be destroyed. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ has 
shown itself to be the greatest incentive to pure and 
noble life that has ever operated in the hearts of men. 



18 THE KING OF KINGS 

Human experience abundantly shows that "faith puri- 
fies the heart and works by love." In shore, the motive 
power to the world's best work would be swept away. 

All the burning and earnest questions of the 
human soul would remain unanswered. God's relation 
to man and man's relation to God, who can declare 
them? The question of the future life, who can an- 
swer? Take Jesus out of the world and you destroy 
its greatest asset and leave it poor indeed. 

II. The divinity of Christ is involved in and neces- 
sary to the working out of the great purpose of God 
respecting our race. 

There is one great and never-changing purpose run- 
ning through the Bible called the "eternal purpose of 
God," and to grasp this purpose is essential to an 
understanding of our problem. 

1. This purpose embraces the whole human family 
in its scope. It contemplates lifting a world out of 
sin and elevating it to a high spiritual life of holiness 
and consequent happiness for time and eternity, a 
purpose entirely worthy of an infinitely wise and 
loving and omnipotent God. This purpose was to be 
realized not by legal enactment and outward re- 
straints, but through inward regeneration and a blend- 
ing of the human with the divine ; by man becoming a 
partaker of the divine nature and his heart becoming 
the abode of the Divine Spirit. 

This wonderful result was to be accomplished by 
faith in a person who was both human and divine, and 
in this becoming the pattern of redeemed humanity. 

This person was to appear on earth, live and die 
and rise from the dead, and ascend to the Father, there 
to exercise perpetual priesthood and kingship until 
the final consummation of all things contemplated in 



THE OUTWORKING OF GOD'S PURPOSE 19 

the great plan when he was to surrender the kingdom 
to God the Father that he might be all in all. It is 
impossible for the finite mind to fully grasp this stu- 
pendous purpose, much less to formulate it in words. 
To adequately state it is like trying to measure the 
water in the boundless ocean or the light that radiates 
from the sun into illimitable space. 

2. This purpose was embodied in various prom- 
ises issued to different ones from time to time as the 
great plan advanced through its various stages of de- 
velopment to its final unfolding in a Messianic king- 
dom, with its Messianic King seated on the throne at 
the right hand of God, wielding a spiritual scepter 
over a. continually growing kingdom that should finally 
fill the whole earth. 

3. The outworking of this purpose is shown as it 
was unfolded in types, both natural and artificial, rep- 
resenting both King and kingdom in their leading fea- 
tures and work. 

It was further made manifest by numerous proph- 
ecies concerning the Messiah, which prophecies are 
definite, minute and circumstantial, covering the entire 
period of his earthly life. His lineage is foretold, and 
the Jewish people kept genealogical tables by which 
his descent could be accurately traced. The place and 
time of his birth and the circumstances of his early 
life were predicted. His character was described 
minutely and his nature was revealed as far as lan- 
guage could do it. 

All the leading events of his life were accurately 
depicted. His death was predicted, and the mos»t 
minute circumstances connected with it were de- 
scribed : His scourging, the piercing of his hands and 
feet, the parting of his raiment among the s^^ldiers, the 



20 THE KING OF KINGS 

piercing of his side, the place of his burial, his resur- 
rection, ascension and entrance into heaven were all 
foretold. 

4. It devolves upon those who argue for the 
divinity of Christ to show that he fully and accurately 
fulfilled the Messianic ideal as disclosed and developed 
in the Old Testament scriptures. The purpose, the 
types and the predictions must be met and satisfied. 
The task is clearly defined, and can not well be mis- 
understood : 

On the one hand, here is an open book, its words 
may be read and studied by all men. It has been in 
existence in its present form for more than two thou- 
sand years. Many of its writings are certainly more 
than three thousand years old. Even the radical 
critics admit that the Septuagint translation of the Old 
Testament was completed a hundred and fifty years 
before Christ. What does this book say concerning 
the Messiah? What are the lineaments of the picture 
that it draws of him? 

On the other hand, here is a life open to the inspec- 
tion of all men. Here are histories of that life, four 
in number, in their very nature showing that they 
were written without collusion. Does this life agree 
with the prophecies found in the Old Testament 
scriptures? If so, the life is divine and the scriptures 
inspired. Certainly no one can doubt the correctness 
of this conclusion. Suppose a book shouM be dis- 
covered that was unquestionably more than three 
hundred years old in which the father of our country 
was clearly foretold, the most detailed circumstances 
of his life predicted and the character of the govern- 
ment founded by him and his cotemporaries described ; 
suppose further that this book claimed for him 



CHRIST FULFILLED MESSIANIC IDEAL 21 

divinity and that his acts and words fully substan- 
tiated this claim ; would anyone dispute either the 
inspiration of the book or the divinity of the person 
foretold? I trow not. We have an exact parallel to 
this hypothetical case in the Old Testament scriptures 
and Jesus of Nazareth, as I trust I shall be able to 
show. If not, then my first argument for the divinity 
of Christ fails. 



CHAPTER III. 

The Argument Based on Certain Differenti- 
ating Characteristics of Christ's Kingdom 
and upon the Claim of Christ and 
His Apostles Respecting His Ful- 
fillment of Messianic Prophecy. 

Before one may pass an adverse judgment upon the 
divinity of Christ, it is logically required that the 
character of his kingdom be taken into consideration. 
If it shall appear that the nature of the kingdom is 
such as to demand a divine head or ruler, then to 
deny his. divinity is tantamount to an attack upon his 
kingdom. Furthermore, if the divinity of Christ is 
demanded by the nature, and necessary to the per- 
petuity and triumph of the kingdom, as it was set 
forth by Christ and his apostles, then those who deny 
his divinity and still try to uphold and defend his 
church occupy an untenable position, and the church 
that they advocate is not the church of Jesus Christ. 
Right here it seems to me the line of cleavage sets up 
between the professed followers of Christ. I hold it to 
be true, as I think the argument will show, that the 
divinity of Christ is not an academic question, that 
may be treated with indifference, but that it is a 
radical, fundamental, vital doctrine, or rather a fact, 
necessary to the very existence of the church that 
Christ founded. A church built upon a Christ robbed 

of his divinity may have some functions as a social 

22 



A DIVINE CHRIST DEMANDED 23 

or ethical institution, but it is not the, or even a, 
church of Christ in the New Testament sense of that 
phrase. Here then is a point that can not be sur- 
rendered, except to the destruction of the church 
itself. It is not therefore a matter for compromise or 
for the exercise of what is termed ''liberality." There 
is no such thing as liberality when the foundation of 
the church is attacked. The disciples of our Lord 
may and should exercise the utmost liberality when 
matters of mere expediency are involved, but with the 
foundation of the church they have nothmg to do. 
This is the sure, tried stone laid in Zion, which the 
Jewish builders rejected, upon which no man may be 
builded who rejects its divine nature. I would, there- 
fore, argue that: 

I. A divine Christ is demanded by the nature of 
his kingdom. 

1. Christianity is a unique system. There is noth- 
ing like it among all the systems of the world, past 
or present, whether philosophical, social, religious or 
political. It stands in a class by itself. It is not a 
philosophy, and yet it involves a philosophy of the 
truest and profoundest kind ; it is not a system of 
ethics, and yet it inculcates the most perfect code of 
morals known to man; it is not a set of doctrines and 
principles, and yet it teaches doctrines and principles 
of the most far-reaching and practical nature ; it is 
not a compact or agreement between men, and yet it 
binds its adherents together with bon^ls stronger 
than the ties of the flesh. This is the paradox that 
Christianity presents. This can not be said of any 
system the world has ever seen, and it Is a phenom- 
enon that challenges the attention of every earnest, 
thoup-htful man. In its ouroose it far transcends in 



24 THE KING OF KINGS 

its sweep the most stupendous purposes ever con- 
ceived by the brain of man, in that it seeks to cure 
not one or a few of the many human ills, but all evil ; 
in short, to save men from sin and all of its conse- 
quences for time and eternity. 

In its method of propagation it dififers from any 
method ever invented by man, in that it seeks to win 
men by reciting the death of its founder on a Roman 
cross for the sins of a world, his burial, resurrection 
and exaltation to the right hand of God. In its bond 
of union it differs from all human bonds in that it 
ties men together by tying them to a sixigle person, 
not as a historical character but as a living, abiding 
presence throughout the ages. Upon this person as a 
foundation, men and women are built up as living 
stones into a spiritual temple which is the kingdom of 
God or the Church of Christ. 

Its faith is a personal trust in a person and pos- 
sible, therefore, for a philosopher or a child. Its 
loyalty is fidelity to a person and not allegiance to 
principles or dogmas or systems or governments or 
rulers, hence the personality of its founder is the 
essential thing. , In all other systems the doctrines or 
tenets or principles are fundamental. The fact that 
Bacon was called the "wisest, meanest of mankind" 
does not afifect the Baconian philosophy. Hence Jesus 
asked, "Who do men say that I am?" not, "What do 
men think of my teaching?" If Jesus had come to 
teach a philosophy, his personality would have been 
immaterial. Do I say by this that Jesus did not teach 
principles and doctrines? Certainly not, f?r he taught 
great truths in a most powerful way, but back of it 
all lay something of fundamental importance that gave 
to his institution meaning, authority, efficacy and 



A DIVINE CHRIST DEMANDED 25 

power. It is the one system of all the ages founded 
on a person. 

2. Since the church is founded on a person who 
is both its foundation and its king, and has for its 
aim a superhuman purpose, it follows that the person 
must be divine. If this had not been true, death 
would have claimed him and held him prisoner, and 
consequently the kingdom would have been without a 
king, and without provision for a successor, and the 
superhuman purpose would fail of its accomplish- 
ment. But, being divine, he can not die unless he 
voluntarily lays down his life for a purpose and takes 
it up again, which he did, and consequently it is 
said, "He was dead and is alive ; behold, he is alive 
forevermore." Hence Christian faith is trust in a 
living, divine, all-powerful Saviour, for whom no pur- 
pose is too great and no work too difficult. Being 
divine, he has infinite wisdom, and consequently he 
is free from mistakes and errors such as have cursed 
all human systems, and all his followers need to do 
is to trust in him and be guided by him in all things. 
If it be said the church has made mistakes, the 
answer is, not by following Christ, but by departing 
from him. 

A system founded on a human Christ is as far 
from the Christianity of the New Testament as earth 
is from heaven. It utterly fails to comprehend the 
true nature of Christianity or to discern its entirely 
unique character. It falls to the level of all human 
systems, and is powerless to grapple successfully with 
the stupendous task that is set before it. Further- 
more, the Christianity that theoretically recognizes 
the divine character of its king, but makes its faith 
consist of belief of doctrines, few or many, fails to 



26 THE KING OF KINGS 

recognize the true nature of Christ's kingdom. It 
loses sight of the fact that Christian faith is trust in a 
living, divine person, and not belief of dogmas, how- 
ever true they may be. Belief of the proposition that 
Jesus Christ is the Son of God is not Christian faith, 
but it is the reason for the trust in him which con- 
stitutes the true faith. Consequently, many believe 
the proposition just stated that never attain unto 
Christian faith. 

Another fact must be kept in mind: It should be 
observed that Christianity proposes salvation from the 
practice, guilt and consequences of sin. This involves 
the continual exercise of pardoning power. Hence, 
Christ claims to sit as mediator between God and 
man, and we are taught to pray to the Father through 
him. This involves divinity. He must be alive for- 
ever more, and accessible to all who call upon him. 
It must, therefore, be clearly evident that the unique 
character of Christianity and the unique work it pro- 
poses to do for man demands a divine Christ. 

II. The divinity of Christ is involved in the claim 
put forth by himself and his apostles respecting his 
fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. 

1. Jesus, in the most positive and unequivocal 
manner, claimed to fulfill in his life and death the 
prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the Mes- 
siah. We read: 

John 5:39: "Ye search the scriptures because ye 
think that in them ye have eternal life ; and these are 
they that bear witness to me." Here Christ beyond 
question refers to the sacred scriptures of the Jews 
or the Old Testament scriptures which were read and 
expounded by Jewish rabbis and doctors. He con- 
fidently asserts that they bear witness of him. In 



CHRIST FULFILLED MESSIANIC PROPHECY 27 

John 5:46 we read: ''For if ye believed Moses, ye 
would believe me, for he wrote of me." The Penta- 
teuch is often referred to under the title of "Moses," 
because Moses was regarded as its author. Jesus 
positively affirms that Moses wrote of him. In Deut. 
IS: 15 we read: ''Jehovah thy God will raise up unto 
thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, 
like unto me ; unto him shall ye hearken." Peter in 
Acts 3 : 22 quotes this prophecy from Moses and ap- 
plies it to Christ. 

Luke 24:46: "Thus it is written, that Christ shall 
suffer and rise again from the dead on the third day: 
and that repentance and remission of sins should be 
preached in his name unto all nations." Here the 
death and resurrection of Christ are declared to be 
matters of prophecy. In this same connection Peter 
says, "Ye are witnesses of these things," referring to 
the fulfillment of the prophecies. 

Luke 24:25, 26: "O foolish men, and slow of heart 
to believe in all that the prophets have spoken ! Be- 
hooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to 
enter into his glory? And beginning from Moses 
and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all 
the scriptures the things concerning himself." This 
was the language of Christ to the two disciples on 
their way to Emmaus. 

Matt. 26:24: "The Son of man goeth, even as it is 
written of him : but woe unto that man through 
whom the Son of man is betrayed." Here Christ as- 
serts that the manner of his death is a subject of 
prophecy. 

Matt. 5: 17: "Think not that I came to destroy the 
law or the prophets ; I came not to desiroy, but to 
fulfil." There is only one way to fulfill a law, and 



28 THE KING OF KINGS 

that is to completely keep it. The way to fulfill a 
prophecy is to meet all the requirements and specifi- 
cations. 

These passages might be greatly multiplied. Jesus 
took special pains to direct attention to the prophecies 
concerning the Messiah, and was content to stand or 
fall by this test. If Jesus did not fulfill the prophecies 
he was a deceiver or self-deceived. Jesus, with a sub- 
lime confidence in his own divinity, dared to risk 
everything on the argument from prophecy. There 
could have been no surer way to overthrow his own 
claims than the method he adopted had he been an 
impostor. On the other hand, if his claims were true, 
there was no better way to build around them an 
impregnable wall. This has ever been recognized by 
believers and by infidels as well ; hence the efforts of 
the latter to discredit the prophecies. 

2. The apostles of Jesus Christ, as they went forth 
on their mission, boldly made the claim that Christ 
vvas the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. There 
was no surer way to stir up prejudice against them- 
selves and no better wa}'- to insure their defeat if 
these claims were false. They must have felt im- 
pregnably secure in their position. 

Let us first examine the preaching and teaching of 
Peter. Peter on Pentecost said, Acts 2 : 2v3, 24: ''Him 
being delivered up by the determinate counsel and 
foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men 
did crucify and slay: whom God raised up, having 
loosed the pangs of death ; because it was not possible 
that he should be holden of it." He then makes a 
lengthy quotation from one of the Psalm-^ and says, 
Acts 2:31: "He [David] foreseeing this spoke of the 
resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left in 



f^HRIST FULFILLED MESSIANIC PROPHECY 2^ 

Hades nor did his flesh see corruption." Peter in the 
temple on a subsequent occasion said, Acts 3:18: 
''But the things, which God before had shewed by the 
mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, 
he thus fulfilled." He also said. Acts 3: 24: ''Yea, and 
all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow 
after have told of these things." At the house of 
Cornelius he declared, Acts 10:43: "To him give all 
the prophets witness that through hie name every one 
that believeth on him shall receive remission of sins." 

This same reliance on prophecy is shown in the 
preaching and teaching of Paul. At Antioch Paul 
said, Acts 13:27: "For they that dwell at Jerusalem 
and their rulers, because they knew him not nor yet 
the voices of the prophets which are read every sab- 
bath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning 
him." Verse 29: "And when they had fulfilled all 
that was written of him, they took him from the tree 
and laid him in the sepulchre." 

Paul at Thessalonica pursued the same method of 
argument. Acts 17:2: "Paul, as his manner was, went 
in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with 
them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging that 
Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from 
the dead." 

Paul at Berea reasoned from the scriptures. Acts 
17:11: "Now these were more noble than those in 
Thessalonica in that they received the word with all 
readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily 
whether these things are so." 

Paul at Rome followed the same course. We read 
Acts 28:23. "To whom he expounded the matter, 
testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading them 
concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and 

(4) 



30 THE KING OF KINGS 

from the prophets." He had no trouble in finding 
references to Jesus in the Scriptures. 

When Paul stood before Agrippa he said, Acts 
26:22: ''Having obtained the help that is from God, I 
stand unto this day, testifying both to small and great, 
saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did 
say should come: how that Christ must suffer, and 
how that he first by the resurrection of the dead 
should proclaim light both to the people and to the 
Gentiles." 

There is something magnificent in the confidence 
of these ambassadors of Christ, and how it puts to 
shame the practice of many modern teachers who 
strive to eliminate the predictive factor in prophecy. 
Other preachers in the apostolic day showed the same 
confidence. "Apollos mightily convinced the Jews, and 
that publicly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus 
was the Christ." This same confidence will always be 
shown by the true preacher, and to-day the men who 
have power with God and man are the men who have 
perfect confidence in the inspiration of the Old Testa- 
ment scriptures and plant themselves squarely on 
its supernatural character. The pulpit that is weak 
here will have no power and ought to have none. 

III. Christ asserts his own divinity in the most 
positive way. 

1. He declared his pre-existence. He said, "Be- 
fore Abraham was, I am." No plainer statement is 
possible. When he asked the Pharisees, "What think 
you of Christ? Whose son is he?" they answered, 
^'The son of David." "How then," said Christ, "does 
David call him Lord?" From the standpoint of the 
Pharisee this was inexplicable, but if Christ existed 
before David, but m fleshly descent belonged to 



CHRIST ASSERTS HIS DIVINITY 31 

David's line^ he could be both David's Lord and 
David's son. In this language again he claims pre- 
existence. In his great intercessory prayer he said, 
**Now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own 
self with the glory I had with thee befoie the world 
was." In this passage he not only asseits his pre- 
existence but his eternity. The language of John 
falls into perfect harmony with this claim when he 
said: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word 
was with God, and the Word was God. The same was 
in the beginning with God. . . . And the Word 
was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld 
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the 
Father), full of grace and truth." He also said, "I 
proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I 
of myself, but he sent me." 'T came not down from 
heaven to do mine own will, but the will of him that 
sent me." The claim of pre-existence is involved in 
these passages. But the claim of pre-existence which 
is stated or implied in all of these passages implies 
divinity. 

2. He claimed the powers and prerogatives of 
Deity. He said, "No man takes my life from me. I 
lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down 
and I have power to take it again." This is possible 
only to Deity. He forgave sins: He said, "Thy sins 
be forgiven thee," and when his language called forth 
remark, he said, "Whether is it easier to say, Thy sins 
be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, take up thy bed and 
walk, but that ye may know that the Son of man hath 
power on earth to forgive sins." Here, as on other 
occasions, he exercised a prerogative of God. In 
comforting his disciples, who were sorrowmg over his 
departure, he said : "I go to prepare a place for you, 



32 THE KING OF KINGS 

but if I go and prepare a place for you, I will return 
and receive you unto myself, that where I am there 
ye may be also." Who but God can do this? Can 
anyone read this language and not see that the claim 
of divinity is involved? He taught men to pray in 
his name, which is blasphemy if he is not divine. To 
press this phase of the argument further is unneces- 
sary. Divinity is implied in every word and action 
of the Master. The more we study his life and teach- 
ings, the more the wonder grows how any one can 
deny his divinity, yea, even his deity, without stamp- 
ing him as a falsifier and a blasphemer, unless refuge 
is sought from this shocking alternative by regarding 
him as an honest, but misguided and mistaken, zealot. 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Argument Based on the Prophecy 
of Daniel Respecting the Messiah.* 

1. The embarrassment of this investigation arises 
not from the meagerness of the prophetic utterances, 
but from the profuseness. It is not our purpose to 
enter upon an exhaustive examination of the Messianic 
prophecies. In the brief time we can spend on this 
topic we can select only a few examples out of the 
great abundance at our command, but I trust these 
will be sufficient to carry conviction to all earnest 
minds that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of the prophets. 
Matthew alone records upwards of sixty fulfilled 
prophecies in Christ's life. He wrote, doubtless, pri- 
marily for the Jews, and his biography was well 
calculated to produce the conviction that in Jesus of 
Nazareth the prophetic picture of the Messiah was 
realized. 

2. Let us also get well in mind the real purpose 
of predictive prophecy. 

It is intended, first of all, to confirm or establish 
the inspiration of the prophetic speaker or writer, 
after the events foretold have occurred. Jesus said, 

*In a work entitled "Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation," 
by Uriah Smith, the seventy weeks of Daniel are very fully dis- 
cussed. This work and Pusey's work on Daniel have been par- 
ticularly helpful to me in preparing this chapter. Other works 
elsewhere referred to have been consulted with profit. 

33 



34 THE KING OF KINGS 

**I have told you before it came to pass that after it 
is come to pass you may believe." As a matter of 
course the truth of the prophetic utterances is also 
thus established. For example, if Jesus fulfilled cer- 
tain prophecies the inspiration of the prophet is shown 
and whatever the prophet said concerning him is con- 
sequently true. 

The second purpose is monitory and hortatory. Its 
design is to produce reformation. Predictive prophecy, 
therefore, is not intended to be history written in 
advance. God does not propose to gratify idle cu- 
riosity by writing history beforehand. It is best in a 
general way that we should not know the future. God 
has been able to write prophecy so it can be read 
after it is fulfilled, but not generally before. Much 
predictive prophecy is therefore conditional. If its 
warnings are heeded the prophecy does not come to 
pass. The case of Jonas preaching to the Ninevites 
is an instance in point. He predicted the overthrow 
of the city; they repented and God spared the city. 
The condition, though nOt expressed, was clearly im- 
plied. It would seem, therefore, that in this class of 
prophecy the fulfillment of the prophecy would indi- 
cate the failure of the prophetic message to accom- 
plish its purpose. That is, the fulfillment shows that 
the exhortation to repentance was unheeded. 

Messianic prophecy must evidently be classed un- 
der the first head. Its great purpose was to establish 
the claims of the Messiah after the fulfillment of the 
predictions had taken place and the inspiration of the 
prophet as well. It no doubt served a lurther pur- 
pose of creating a widespread expectancy concerning 
the coming One, and in this way assisting in the 
general preparation for Him. When Christ appeared 



DANIEL'S PRAYER AND ITS ANSWER 35 

a general hope existed, which is no doubt attributable, 
in part at least, to the utterances of Hebrew prophets 
disseminated in various ways. 

We observe that : The time of the Messiah's coming 
and the leading features of his great work were accu- 
rately foretold by the prophet Daniel. Let us con- 
sider: 

1. Daniel's prayer and the answer to it. 

1. Israel was in bondage at the time of its de- 
livery and consequently it was uttered more than five 
hundred years before the events occurred. The Jewish 
commonwealth had been destroyed and the people car- 
ried captive to Babylon. Daniel had risen to high 
estate in his captivity, but he had remained loyal to 
his country and countrymen, and true to his religion. 
Three times each day he prayed with his window open 
towards Jerusalem. 

2. Daniel seems to have become greatly perplexed 
over the condition in which his people continued to 
live and the reason is very evident. He had learned 
in the study of the prophecy of Jeremiah that the 
captivity was to last seventy years. In Dan. 9:1-3, 
we read : "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahas- 
uerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made 
king over the realm of the Chaldeans : in the first year 
of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books the 
number of years whereof the Lord came to Jeremiah 
the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations 
of Jerusalem even seventy years, and I set my face 
unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications 
with fasting and sackcloth and ashes." It is clear 
that his perplexity grew out of the fact that sixty- 
eight of the seventy years prophesied by Jeremiah 
had now elapsed and still there were no signs of deliv- 



:3G THE KING OF KINGS 

erance. This was two years prior to the decree of 
Cyrus permitting the captives to return. The out- 
look was indeed very dark. Daniel, therefore, sought 
relief in a wonderful prayer which is recorded in 
Dan. 9:4-19. 

It is evident from his prayer that he thought the 
time of the captivity was about to be prolonged on 
account of the sins of his countrymen and he besought 
the Lord for mercy. His prayer is a confession of 
sin and a petition for God to remember his people. 
It is the prayer of a true patriot calling mightily on 
God in a time of sore distress. 

3. This wonderful prayer brought a speedy and 
remarkable answer. The angel Gabriel was dispatched 
from heaven to bear to Daniel the following message. 
He reached Daniel while he was still praying. In 
Dan. 9:20-23, we read: "And while I was speaking 
and praying, and confessing my sin and the sins of 
my people Israel, and presenting my supplication 
before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of 
my God ; yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the 
man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the 
beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me 
about the time of the evening oblation. And he in- 
structed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, 
I am now come forth to make thee skilful of under- 
standing." (Evidently understanding of God's pur- 
poses concerning Israel is meant.) "At the beginning 
of thy supplications the commandment went forth, 
and I am come to tell thee ; for thou art greatly be- 
loved ; therefore consider the matter and understand 
the vision." 

4. A matter so remarkable as this we may rest as- 
sured is of no trivial importance. There is no more 



DANIEL'S PRAYER AND ITS ANSWER 37 

impressive incident recorded in the Old Testament 
scriptures. 

We may learn a lesson here as to the efficacy of 
prayer. It brought an angel from heaven to earth in 
answer to the cry of a righteous man. Truly "The 
effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 
much." 

All great moral heroes have been men of prayer. 
The men in Old Testament history eminent for their 
moral virtues were men who called mightily on God. 
In the New Testament history the same fact finds 
ample illustration. Our Savior himself was conspicu- 
ously a man of prayer. Whole nights were spent in 
communication with his Father. All the great relig- 
ious reformers who have -accomplished large results 
have been pre-eminently men of prayer. To be a man 
of prayer is to have power with God, and to have 
power with God is to have power with men. 

Do not despise the man of prayer; he wields a 
battering-ram that breaks down every opposing bar- 
rier. His appeal calls the very cohorts of heaven to 
his assistance. Every great work begins with prayer, 
advances by prayer and ends in prayer. We are ad- 
monished to ask that we may receive, to pray without 
ceasing and in everything give thanks. Have no con- 
fidence in the man who despises prayer. 

5. In Dan. 9:24-27, we learn what the message 
of Gabriel to Daniel was : ''Seventy weeks are decreed 
upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish 
transgression and to make an end of sins, and to make 
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting 
righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, 
and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and 
discern that from the going forth of the commandment 



28 THE KING OF KINGS 

to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed 
one, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore 
and two weeks. It shall be built again with street 
and moat, even in troublous times. And after the 
threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be 
cut off, and shall have nothing:" (The old version 
reads, "but not for himself,") and the people of the 
Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the 
sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood 
and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are 
determined. And he shall make a firm covenant with 
many for one week; for the half of the week he shall 
cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and upon 
the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh 
desolate; and even into the consummation, and that 
determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the des- 
olate." 

6. The inspiration of the prophet Daniel will be 
firmly established if the things predicted in this pass- 
age can be identified and shown to correspond with the 
specifications. A great effort has been made by ration- 
ahstic critics to throw the Book of Daniel out of 
court, but I venture the assertion that as long as this 
passage remains in the book, its place in the canon 
can not be successfully controverted if the historic 
facts agree with the predictions, as they certainly do. 

Let us next direct our attention to : 

II. The specifications of the prophecy and the 
explanation of them. 

1. The time allotted to the Jews for the accom- 
plishment of certain things is clearly stated : 

"Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people." 
This evidently means that for seventy weeks longer 
their special privileges as an elect nation were to 



SPECIFICATIONS OF GABRIELS PROPHECY 39 

continue. This was evidently not seventy literal 
weeks. A much longer period would be needed for 
the accomplishment of all things mentioned here. 
Seven weeks are named for the restoration of the 
commonwealth, building the city wall, etc. Evidently 
seven weeks of seven days each can not be meant. 
It .would require three or four months to send the 
decree to Jerusalem after it should be uttered and cer- 
tainly a much longer time to rebuild the city. What 
then can be the meaning of the word 'Veek" in this 
connection? Fortunately, we are able to find an 
answer by the study of other passages of Scripture. 
A prophetic week was composed of seven prophetic 
days, and in prophetic symbolism a day stands for a 
year, hence a prophetic week was seven years. In 
Ezek. 4:4-6 we have a symbolic prophecy, the first 
part referring doubtless to the northern kingdom and 
probably indicative of the length of time from the 
revolt of Jeroboam to the captivity, the latter part 
referring to Judah. In this we learn that a day in 
prophecy is put for a year. We read : "Moreover lie 
thou upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the 
house of Israel upon it; according to the number of 
the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear 
their iniquity. For I have appointed the years of their 
iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three 
hundred and ninety days : so shalt thou bear the in- 
iquity of the house of Israel." The three hundred 
and ninety days here mentioned are explained in the 
same verse to be symbolical of three hundred and 
ninety years. And again : *'When thou hast accom- 
plirhed these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt 
bear the iniquity of the house of Judah : forty days, 
each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee." 



40 THE KING OF KINGS 

Here also a prophetic day is put for a year. Jacob was 
said to have fulfilled her week when he worked seven 
years for his wife. In Num. 14:3, 4, the forty days 
occupied by the spies in exploring the land of Canaan 
are used symbolically to designate the forty years 
of wandering in the desert. Seventy weeks, or four 
hundred and ninety days, would therefore denote a 
period of four hundred and ninety years. This sym- 
bolic use of the word "day" is found also in profane 
writings, as Pusey shows. 

2. During these seventy weeks of years the things 
to be accomplished are specified in the passage, first 
in a general way, and then we have the specifications 
distributed throughout the seventy weeks. 

The general specifications are as follows : 

(1) To finish transgression. 

(2) To anoint the Most Holy. 

(3) To make an end of sins. 

(4) To make reconciliation for iniquity. 

(5) To bring in everlasting righteousness. 

(6) To seal up vision and prophecy. 

(7) To restore the Jewish commonwealth. 

(8) To make a firm covenant with many. 

(9) To do away with Jewish sacrifices and 

oblations. 

(10) The utter overthrow of the Jewish common- 

wealth. 
Then follows the distribution of the events pre- 
dicted throughout the seventy weeks of years. It will 
be noted that this whole period of seventy weeks, or 
four hundred and ninety years, is divided into three 
periods : seven weeks, sixty-two weeks and one week. 
Seven weeks, or forty-nine years, is marked as a period 
of great trouble. During this time the Jewish com- 



SPECIFICATIONS OF GABRIELS PROPHECY 41 

monwealth was to be restored. In the language of 
the prophecy, "The street shall be built again, and 
the wall, even in troublous times." Threescore and 
two weeks^ or four hundred and thirty-four years, con- 
' itute the next division. Nothing is said of this 
division except that at its close "the Anointed One," 
evidently the Messiah, was to appear and be cut off. 
One week or seven years is the last period mentioned, 
and it was to be occupied by the personal work of the 
Messiah : "He shall make a firm covenant with many," 
and "for the half of a week he shall cause the sacrifice 
and oblation to cease." 

The climax of interest is reached in the prediction 
of the events of the last week. Now, if the specifica- 
tions found in this prophecy do not agree with the 
historic facts, the argument from this prophecy breaks 
down; whereas if the specifications are clear and 
minute and are found to agree closely with the history, 
the argument has overwhelming force. It will be seen 
that the issue is sharply drawn. 

3. Let us note then the. items mentioned in the 
prophecy and ascertain if possible the evident meaning 
of each specification. 

(1) "To finish transgression;" that is, to fill up 
the measure of the iniquity of the Jewish people. 
They had repeatedly rebelled against God and had 
fallen into gross idolatry. God had punished them, 
and they had repented only to again fall into apostasy 
and rebellion. God was now about to lead a remnant 
out of captivity. We would suppose that after such 
a severe lesson they would be true and faithful to 
Jehovah their King, but such was not the case ; their 
transgression was not yet finished. The full height 
and depth of their iniquity was yet to be shown. This 



42 THE KING OF KINGS 

was accomplished in the crucifixion of the Christ, their 
true Messiah, whom they failed to recognize. In 
putting him to death they reached the culmination 
of all their wickedness. No greater sin was possible. 
Time was to be given for this wickedness to culminate, 
but in the meantime the great purposes of God for 
mankind were to be carried forward. 

(2) To anoint the Most Holy: This, no doubt, 
refers to the anointing of the Messiah. It was the 
custom to anoint the high priest on his introduction 
into office. The oil of anointing was symbolic of the 
Holy Spirit. Christ was not symbolically, but lit- 
erally, anointed by the Holy Spirit at the time of 
his baptism. The Spirit descended in the form of a 
dove and abode on him and a voice from heaven 
came, saying, ''This is my beloved Son, in whom I 
am well pleased." 

(3) To make an end of sins: This doubtless 
means the final taking away of the sins of those who 
lived faithful under the law. No sins were actually 
taken away until Christ died. Once a year the high 
priest made a sacrifice for his own sins and the sins of 
the people and entered into the most holy place where 
Jehovah symbolically dwelt. Sin was remembered 
again every year. When Jesus Christ died the sins of 
all the faithful and obedient who had died under the 
law were actually taken away. 

(4) To make reconciliation for iniquity: This was 
accomplished by Christ's death on Calvary. He suf- 
fered as an atonement for sin. He bore in his own 
body our sins upon the tree; "by his stripes we are 
healed." The apostles gave peculiar emphasis to this 
doctrine in all their preaching as they went out under 
the great commission of Christ. Paul declares, "God 



THE SPECIFICATIONS EXPLAINED 4S 

commendeth his love toward us in that while we were 
yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more then being: 
now justified by his blood, ye shall be saved from 
the wrath of God through him." 

(5) To bring in everlasting righteousness: This 
was to be done by the setting up of the kingdom of 
righteousness, an everlasting kingdom of which 
Christ himself is the King. This kingdom began on 
the first Pentecost after Christ's resurrection, and 
embraces in its purposes the whole world. 

(6) To seal up vision and prophecy : The sealing- 
up of vision and prophecy of the Old Testament could 
only be done in one way and that was by fulfilling" 
them. Jesus said when he was here, "Think not that 
I came to destroy the law or the prophets ; I came not 
to destroy, but to fulfil," and Paul declared of Christ 
that he blotted out the bond written in ordinances 
which was against us, which was contrary to us, and 
that he took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross, 

(7) To restore the Jewish commonwealth: This 
was the first specification to be fulfilled, and the first 
seven weeks or forty-nine years of the prophecy was 
assigned for its accomplishment. This point will be 
dealt with more fully a little later on. 

(8) To make a firm covenant with many: This 
points to a new covenant. Such a covenant was made 
by Jesus Christ. The promise to Abraham on which 
the new covenant was based was as follows : "In thee 
and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be 
blessed." Paul said Christ was the seed here referred 
to. He was mediator of the new covenant. During 
his ministry, which fell in the last week of Daniel's 
prophecy, he made a firm covenant with many by 
inaugurating the new institution. The contrast be- 



44 THE KING OF KINGS 

tween this covenant and the former covenant is 
referred to by the prophet Jeremiah : ''Behold the day 
is come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new cov- 
enant with the house of Israel and with the house of 
Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with 
their fathers/' 

(9) To cause the sacrifice and oblations to cease : 
The taking away of the Jewish sacrifice and oblations 
was accomplished by Jesus Christ when he offered 
himself a lamb without spot or blemish for the sins 
of the world. These sacrifices all pointed to his one 
great sacrifice, and when he came and suffered on 
Calvary he caused the sacrifice and oblations to cease. 
The long-continued sacrifices extending through so 
many centuries were swallowed up in one great sacri- 
fice. The Old Testament student who reads of the 
long line of sacrifices and oblations feels that this can 
not be perpetual, that it must end, that there can be 
nothing in them of intrinsic value, that they are evi- 
dently typical and hence prophetic, and must cease 
when that to which they point shall appear. This is 
true. No sacrifice could be legally offered after the 
great sacrifice to which they all pointed had been 
made. 

(10) The overthrow of the Jewish commonwealth: 
The destruction of Jerusalem was foretold as destined 
to occur after the other events predicted should have 
come to pass. 

"A prince and his people shall come and shall de- 
stroy the city and the sanctuary," and the destruc- 
tion, it was declared, would be complete — "The end 
thereof shall be with a flood." ''Unto the end of the 
war desolations are determined." It was also proph- 
esied that the desolation would be of long continu- 



THE PREDICTIONS FULFILLED 45 

ance, "Upon the wing of abominations shall come 
one that maketh desolate, even unto the consumma- 
tion, and that determined, shall wrath be poured upon 
the desolate." It was to be a hurt that would never 
be cured. 

We are now ready to consider: 

III. The historic fulfillment of the predictions. 

1. If we can determine when this period of four 
hundred and ninety years began we can ascertain 
whether or not these predictions were fulfilled. If the 
prophecy did not fail of accomplishment the historic 
facts must correspond to the prophetic specifications. 

The beginning of the seventy weeks, or four hun- 
dred and ninety years, is clearly marked. The time 
was to be reckoned, ''from the going forth of the com- 
mandment to restore and to build Jerusalem." 

There are but four events that can be taken as an- 
swering to "the commandment to restore and to build 
Jerusalem." (1) The decree of Cyrus, B.'C. 536, Ezra 
1 : 2-4. This was the decree for building the temple. 
(2) The decree of Darius, B. C. 518. This was the 
decree for the further prosecution of the work which 
it seems had been hindered. It was a repetition of the 
first decree, and hence did not authorize the re-estab- 
lishment of the Jewish commonwealth. (3) I'he 
decree of Artaxerxes, B. C. 457. This decree was 
given in the seventh year of Artaxerxes. From the 
canon of Ptolemy we learn that the seventh year of 
Artaxerxes was the year 457 B. C. We are told that 
the accuracy of the canon is demonstrated by the con- 
current agreement of more than twenty eclipses. 

It can not therefore be disputed that the seventh 
year of Artaxerxes was the year 457 B. C. An exact 
copv of this decree is found in the seventh chapter of 

(5 



46 THE KING OF KINGS 

Ezra. It is written in the Chaldaic language, which 
was spoken in Babylon at the time. The rest of the 
Book of Ezra is written in Hebrew. There is some- 
thing very remarkable in the preservation in the orig- 
inal form of this decree, and when we see how much 
depends upon it we may regard it as providential. 
By this decree permission was granted to Ezra to go 
up to Jerusalem, taking as many as he desired that 
were willing to go. It also granted him unlimited 
treasure. It empowered him to ordain laws, set mag- 
istrates and judges who had authority to execute 
punishments — confiscation, banishment and even the 
infliction of the death penalty were included. In 
other words, Ezra was authorized to restore the com- 
monwealth, and means were placed at his disposal to 
enable him to do so. (4) The fourth decree was 
given to Nehemiah 444 B. C. The purpose of Nehe- 
miah's going was to assist in accomplishing the work 
undertaken by Ezra which was being retarded. He 
accomplished his mission in TJty-two days after ar- 
riving at Jerusalem, Neh. 6: 15. When he arrived he 
found priests, nobles and people engaged in the work 
of rebuilding. 

It is evident that the decree given to Ezra B. C. 
457 is the one authorizing the restoring and rebuilding 
of Jerusalem. Ezra is regarded as the restorer even 
to this day, and Ezra considered himself empowered 
to restore the Jewish state, as seems evident by his 
prayer. Ezra 9:9: "For we are bondmen; yet our 
God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath 
extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of 
Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of 
our God and to repair the ruins thereof, and to give 
us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem." The three decrees, 



THE PREDICTIONS FULFILLED 47 

one of Cyrus, one of Darius and one of Artaxerxes, 
may really be regarded as one decree, that of Artax- 
erxes being the principal in that this decree author- 
ized the re-establishment of the Jewish state and the 
two previous decrees merely preparatory to this. Ezra 
so regarded them, as is shown by the passage, Ezra 
6: 14: ''And the elders of the Jews builded and pros- 
pered, through the prophesying of Haggai, the prophet, 
and Zechariah, the son of Iddo. And they builded and 
finished it, according to the commandment of the God 
of Israel, and according to the decree of Cyrus and 
Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia." 

The decree of Artaxerxes must therefore be re- 
garded as the one referred to by the angel in the 
words "from the going forth of the commandment," 
and it fixes our date from which to reckon. 

2. Having now the starting-point fixed, we next 
inquire, ''Will the prophetic dates correspond with the 
historic facts?" 

(1) Reckoning from B. C. 457, the seven prophetic 
weeks, or forty-nine years, we have the date for the 
accomplishment of the restoration of Jerusalem. This 
accords accurately with historic facts. This was the 
time the work was completed, 408 B. C. This restora- 
tion was accomplished in troublous times. Great diffi- 
culties were encountered. The walls were thrown 
down and the gates burned with fire. This is why 
Nehemiah went up to assist. The agreement with the 
prophecy is marvelously close. 

(2) If we reckon from 408 B. C, the sixty-two 
prophetic weeks, or four hundred and thirty-four 
years, we come down to the year A. D. 26 as the 
close of the second period. 

The close of this period brings us to Messiah 



48 THE KING OF KINGS 

the Prince, according to the prophecy. This was 
the thirtieth year of Christ's life, since there is an 
error of four years in the calendar, as is well known. 
In A. D. 582 Dionysius Exiguus, a Roman abbot, 
established the date of the Christian era. From the 
best evidence he could get he fixed the date at 
753 A. U. C. But Christ was born before the death 
of Herod, which occurred in April, 750 A. U. C. 
Christ was therefore thirty years old in the year A. D. 
26, which agrees with the testimony of Luke. At 
this time Christ began his public ministry, Luke 
3 : 23 : ''And Jesus himself when he began to teach 
was about thirty years of age." When Jesus was 
baptized of John in Jordan the Spirit of God in the 
form of a dove descended upon him, and a voice 
came from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son ; 
in whom I am well pleased." Immediately Christ en- 
tered upon his work. He was now the Anointed One. 
Here the second period of four hundred and thirty- 
four years ends. When Christ entered upon his work 
he declared the time was fulfilled. What time if not 
the prophetic period? The time appointed by God 
and foretold by his prophet as the time of his appear- 
ing. 

(3) The third period consists of but one prophetic 
week, or seven years. This makes up the seventy 
weeks, or four hundred and ninety years. 

After the sixty-ninth week, or after the close of 
the second period, Messiah was to be cut off. In 
other words, Messiah was to be put to death in the 
seventieth week in the midst of the week. The Re- 
vised Version reads : "For the half of the week he 
shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease." This 
was accomplished by Christ's death. No animal sac- 



THE PREDICTIONS FULFILLED 49 

rifice could be legally offered after Christ's death, as 
all sacrifices were typical of his death, and type ceases 
when antitype appears. Christ was actually crucified 
in the middle of the last prophetic week, or three and 
one-half years after the beginning of his public min- 
istry. This is evident from the following considera- 
tions : He attended during his ministry four Passover 
feasts, recorded as follows: John 2: 13, John 5: 1, John 
6: 4, John 13 : 1. He was crucified at the last Passover. 
The baptism of Christ occurred probably as much as 
six months before he attended the first Passover. As- 
suming that it was six months before, from this time 
till the. fourth Passover, or till the crucifixion, would 
be three years and one-half. Christ was therefore 
crucified in the middle of the seventieth week, thus 
fulfilling prophecy to the letter. 

There was still one-half week to elapse before the 
seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, al- 
lotted to the Jews should be completed. It is a his- 
toric fact that for about three and one-half years after 
the death of Christ the apostles failed to carry out 
his commission to go into all the world and preach the 
gospel to every creature. During this time the gospel 
privileges were confined to the Jews. In this the 
prophecy is again fulfilled, which states that the time 
allotted to the Jews should be four hundred and ninety 
years. At the end of this time a great persecution 
crose, during which Stephen suffered martyrdom. 
Then the disciples went evervwhere preaching the 
Word. Then it was that Philip went down and 
preached to the Samaritans. Then the covenant made 
witli A]-)raham was beginnine to be fulfilled, the Sa- 
maritans being admitted to citizenship in the kingdom 
of God. Then the time determined upon the Jews 



50 THE KING OF KINGS 

ended because the despised Samaritans had becorne 
children of Abraham by faith. The last week of the 
seventy is ended, and the disciples are found going 
everywhere preaching the Word. Soon after this, in 
the year A. D. 70, the awful destruction foretold in the 
latter part of the prophecy came to pass. We read: 
''The people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy 
the city and the sanctuary and the end thereof shall 
be with a flood." This, no doubt, refers to the com- 
pleteness of destruction — destruction by a flood is ex- 
ceedingly complete. All this was marvelously ful- 
filled. Christ said of the temple that not one stone 
should be left standing upon another, and history tells 
us that Titus actually plowed up the foundations of 
the temple ; the destruction was as complete as if it 
had been swept away by a flood. The phrase "the 
end shall be with a flood" may refer to the overwhelm- 
ing tide of war or the overspreading armies of the 
conquering prince. Either explanation fulfills the pre- 
diction. 

Beginning to count the seventy prophetic weeks 
from the decree of Artaxerxes, 457 B. C, we find 
the agreement of this prophecy with historic fact is 
complete throughout. The whole case may be summed 
up as follows : 

(1) The temple was restored and the walls built 
within the specified time — forty-nine years. 

(2) The Jews filled up their cup of iniquity to 
the brim. 

(3) End was made of sins by the death of Christ. 

(4) Reconciliation was effected by the sacrifice 
of the Lamb of God. 

(5) The everlasting kingdom of righteousness was 
ushered in. 



THE PREDICTIONS FULFILLED 51 

(6) The most holy One was anointed at the time 
designated. This took place at the baptism of Christ. 

(7) Prophecy and vision were sealed by the death 
of Christ. 

(8) The new covenant was made, embracing the 
Gentiles, ''A firm covenant with many." 

(9) Jewish sacrifices and oblations were made to 
cease by the offering of the perfect Sacrifice. 

(10) About thirty-eight years after Christ's death 
Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus as by a flood. The 
most awful desolations were witnessed. We, there- 
fore, hold that this prophecy has been fulfilled to the 
letter. 

3. I find myself in good company in advocating 
the view here set forth. Luther in his family book 
of sermons explains the seventy weeks in this way. 
Dr. Adam Clark, in his commentary, offers the same 
explanation. In "Prideaux's Connections" this view is 
maintained. Pusey, in his work on Daniel, takes this 
view and argues it conclusively. Uriah Smith, Mat- 
terson and other writers of their school make ex- 
haustive and conclusive arguments to the same effect, 
and finally the lamented H. W. Everest takes this 
view : in short, writers of the conservative school gen- 
erally are in perfect accord with the position I have 
here set forth. If Daniel did not write this prophecy, 
it was certainly written by some one more than three 
hundred years before the Christian era, consequently 
long before any of the events prophesied transpired 
except the first prediction. Even if it could be shown 
that Daniel did not write the book attributed to him, 
the force of this prophecy would still remain. The 
book was written by some one in time to be included 
in the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. 



52 THE KING OF KINGS 

This translation was begun about 280 B. C. Some 
authorities claim it was not" completed till about 150 
B. C. Even if this be true, and Daniel were the last 
book translated by the seventy, and if the book had 
been written by some one immediately before its 
translation, which is incredible, still the prophecy an- 
tedated the fulfillment by more than one hundred and 
fifty years, which is just as convincing as if it were 
uttered three hundred years before its fulfillment. 

Who that notes these wonderful agreements of 
prophecy and history can doubt that Jesus was the 
Messiah? 

If Daniel was not inspired, here is an enigma more 
wonderful than any miracle. Here are numerous 
minute specifications of such a character as to be 
entirely out of range of human prescience or fore- 
sight; in fact, contrary to the general expectations of 
the Jewish people. These specifications are fulfilled 
to the letter and at the dates predicted. Can the in- 
spiration of the prophet be doubted? In fact, inspira- 
tion is the only adequate explanation, and if this be 
true here the controversy ends. Jesus was the Mes- 
siah, the Son of God. This is the only rational expla- 
nation and the only consistent ground on which to 
stand. 

Note. — Sir Robert Anderson in his work, entitled "Daniel in 
the Critics' Den," discusses the seventy weeks of Daniel in a 
general way. The argument presented in this chapter agrees 
with his conclusions with two or three slight differences. He 
makes the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem mark 
the beginning of the last prophetic week instead of Christ's 
baptism. In this way he fails to make the events of the last 
week agree accurately with the prediction. His mistake (for I 
think he is mistaken) grows out of the fact that he fails to 
locate the correct date from which to count; namely, 457 B. C. 
Then he computes the time by Jewish years, three hundred and 
sixty days each, instead of calendar years, and thus brings the 



SIR ROBERT ANDERSON'S ARGUMENT 53 

end of sixty-nine weeks to the triumphal entry of Christ, which 
can scarcely be regarded as the coming of the Prince or the 
Messiah. Christ came officially, if I may use the term, when he 
came to John for baptism and was anointed by the Holy Spirit 
who came in visible form; then he entered on his work. It is 
more probable that the angel, in making the announcement, 
would speak in terms of actual calendar years than to use the 
Jewish year, which was the Luni-Solar. By accepting the date 
of the decree of Artaxerxes, 457 B. C, as the date from which 
to begin, and using actual years instead of Luni-Solar years, 
the agreement with the prophecy is complete. The last week is 
thus fully accounted for. I regard Mr. Anderson as one of the 
strongest defenders of the Bible against the attack of the 
divisive critics, but I think in this instance he fell into a slight 
error as to dates, which really embarrassed him in the closing 
part of his argument; but it is encouraging to know his argu- 
ment in method and general conclusions agrees with that set 
forth in this chapter. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Argument Based on the Prophecies Con- 
cerning Many Incidents of Christ's Life.* 

1. Before the introduction of man pre-Adamic his- 
tory and prophecy, if the expression may be allowed, 
pointed to a coming one. Every animal was in some 
sense a type of the coming man. The earth itself 
advanced with slow and steady steps to a form and 
condition adapted to the wants, capacities and powers 
of man. When Adam stood erect in the image and 
likeness of God he was the crowning miracle of cre- 
ation. 

2. This bears a wonderful resemblance to the 
coming of the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Prophecies concerning him abound in the Old Testa- 
ment scriptures and other lines of preparation are also 
seen. As the material world was prepared for the first 
Adam, so the moral and intellectual worlds were pre- 
pared for the second Adam by slow yet striking 
changes. When the infant Jesus slept in his mother's 
arms in Bethlehem, the most gigantic miracle of all 
time was seen. 

3. These two Adams form the main themes of 
prophecy, both natural and revealed. The great 
volume of nature is a book of prophecy concerning the 

* Hastings' "Infidel Library," a series of tracts I have found 
very useful in identifying the prophecies concerning Christ and 
their fulfillments. 

54 



LINEAGE OF THE SECOND ADAM 55 

first Adam. The great volume of revelation is a 
book of prophecy concerning the second Adam. The 
first Adam was made in the image of God. The 
second was God himself. So we read, 1 Cor. 15 : 45-47, 
*'The first man Adam became a living soul." He did 
not have inherent life, but conferred life. "The last 
Adam became a life-giving spirit." He had life in 
himself and hence was God. Hence Jesus said, John 
10: 18, *'No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it 
down myself. I have power to lay it down and I have 
power to take it again." This is a prerogative of God. 
We also read, ''The first man is of the earth, earthy; 
the second man is from heaven." Here again Christ's 
divinity is clearly stated. 

I. The circumstances of the introduction of the 
second Adam into the world are plainly matters of 
prophecy. 

1. The lineage of the Messiah was clearly indi- 
cated. The genealogies of the Jews were sacredly 
kept. Every Jew in good standing could trace his 
genealogy back to Abraham. In 1 Chron. 9 : 1 we 
read : "So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies ; 
and, behold, they are written in the book of the kings 
of Israel : and Judah was carried away captive to 
Babylon for their transgression." Thus we see the 
genealogies were kept to the time of the captivity. 
In Ezra 2* 1 we read, "Now these are the children of 
the province, that went up out of the captivity of those 
which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar, 
the king of Babylon, had carried into Babylon, and 
that returned unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one 
into his city." The writer then gives a long list of 
families that went up out of the captivity, and then 
mentions others who could not produce their geneal- 



56 THE KING OF KINGS 

ogies. These were excluded from the priesthood on 
that account. After this the genealogies were accu- 
rately kept, up to the destruction of Jerusalem. Since 
then there have been nothing more than vague tra- 
ditions. 

A' double reason existed for keeping these geneal- 
ogies : (1) To prove purity of blood. (2) To retain 
title in land. The landed property could not pass away 
from the family permanently. Hence a Jew's title to 
his estate depended on his genealogy. The motive for 
keeping up the genealogies was therefore very strong. 
No man could impose upon the Jew in regard to his 
origin. The records were sacredly guarded, and were 
ofhcial public documents. A man who would make a 
false claim as to family or origin would be instantly 
detected. 

Isaiah points out the lineage through which the 
Messiah was to come. In chapter 11: 1, 2, we read: 
"And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock 
of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit : 
and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the 
spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of 
counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the 
fear of the Lord." Also in verse 10, we read, "And 
it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of 
Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, 
unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place 
shall be glorious." 

Note that: The stem was to die down, but some of 
the roots were to remain, and out of these roots was 
to spring the righteous branch of the Messiah. This 
finally came to pass. The royal line through Solomon 
became extinct, but other descendants of David re- 
mained, and the house of David was perpetuated. The 



TWO GENEALOGIES OF JESUS 57 

Jews generally understood that the Messiah was to be 
of the r.Qed of David. Jesus asked the Pharisees. 
"What think ye of Christ, whose son is he?" They 
promptly answered, "The son of David." If Jesus 
had not been of the house of David, this fact alone 
would have overthrown his claims. 

There are two genealogies of Jesus given in the 
New Testament. Matthew traces the genealogy of 
Joseph, the husband of Mary, back through David to 
Abraham, or rather from Abraham to Joseph. Luke 
traces a different line back through David and Abra- 
ham to Adam. Matthew says in closing the genealogy, 
"Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom 
was born Jesus who is called Christ." Luke says in 
his genealogy that Joseph was the son of Heli. Is 
there a contradiction here? Joseph could not be both 
the son of Jacob and the son of Heli, but Matthew 
says* Jacob begat Joseph. Luke does not say Heli 
begat Joseph, but that Joseph was the son of Heli. 
This is easily explained. The son-in-law was also 
called son by the Jews, and if Mary was the daughter 
of Heli and Joseph was her husband, he could be called 
the son of Heli. It is doubtless true that Matthew, 
writing for the Jews, gave Christ's legal lineage, and 
his legal claims would be through Joseph back to 
David. Luke, in writing for the Gentile world, would 
give Christ's lineal blood descent through Mary back 
through David and finally to Adam, the father of all. 
The reason Mary's name does not appear is because the 
names of women were not inserted in the tables of 
the direct line, but the names of their husbands in- 
stead. The argument in favor of this explanation is 
thoroughly convincing. The purpose of Luke could 
only be served by giving the real blood line of Jesus, 



58 THE KING OF KINGS 

and if he had no earthly father it was natural to close 
with the name of Mary's husband, or rather begin with 
his name. As the son-in-law was called son, Joseph is 
called son of Heli. Jesus' disciples knew that the 
Messiah was to come through the Davidic line. They 
also believed in the virgin birth of Jesus, as is shown 
by the records of Matthew and Luke. Hence they 
must have known that Mary was the descendant of 
David. The current title by which Jesus was known 
among the people was "Son of David." The blind 
man cried, "Thou son of David, have mercy on us." 
The woman of Canaan cried, "Have mercy on me, O 
Lord, thou son of David." Blind Bartimeus cried, 
"Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me." The 
multitude that followed Him into Jerusalem cried, 
"Hosanna to the son of David," Jesus gave the 
Pharisees a hard question to answer: "If the Mes.siah 
is the son of David, how then does David call him 
Lord?" This David did in his prophetic Psalm. This 
can only be explained on the hypothesis that Jesus is 
the Son of God as well as the son of David. If Jesus 
were the Son of God, then David could call him Lord, 
although his son. • Peter in his Pentecostal sermon 
declared the Davidic ancestry of Christ. Paul taught 
that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was the seea of 
David according to the flesh. In writing to Timothy 
he said, "Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of 
David, was raised from the dead according to my 
gospel." In Revelation we read, "These things saith 
he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key 
of David." This refers to Christ. Also we read in 
the same book, "Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, 
the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and 
to loose the seven seals thereof, and I beheld, and lo ! 



THE TRIBE OF THE MESSIAH 59 

in the midst of the throne and of the four living crea- 
tures and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it 
had been slain." 

Jesus Christ is the lion of the tribe of Judah. He 
is also the lamb that was slain. Among the last words 
Jesus has spoken to us, uttered sixty years after he 
ascended to heaven, are these, "I, Jesus, have sent my 
angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. 
I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright 
and morning star." This language is explainable only 
on the hypothesis that Jesus was divine.* 

Here is a question for the Jews to answer: "If the 
Messiah is to be of the family of David, and he has 
not yet come, how can his claim now be substantiated 
since the genealogical records all perished in the de- 
struction of Jerusalem? Strange that these tables 
should have been preserved through all vicissitudes up 
to the coming of Christ, and that God should have 
permitted them to be lost at the destruction of Jeru- 
salem, if the Messiah had not yet come. 

2. The tribe through which the Messiah was to 
come is pointed out. 

This is shown in the prophecy of Jacob uttered in 
his final blessing upon Judah, Gen. 49: 10: ''The 
sceptre ehall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's 
staff from between his feet, until Shiloh come ; and 
unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be." 

The scepter was the symbol of the tribe of Judah. 
The lawgiver evidently means the official head of the 
Jewish religion. The Shiloh here referred to is cer- 
tainly the Messiah. The prophecy evidently means 



*This argurnent follows a tract, entitled "Israel's Messiah," 
by H. L. Hastings, which discusses the question of the two 
genealogies very clearly. 



60 THE KING OF KINGS 

that the tribe of Judah should remain and the worship 
be maintained until the coming of Christ. The fulfill- 
ment is clear. When Christ came Judah was the only 
remaining tribe. The ten tribes carried away into 
captivity never returned. Benjamin was finally swal- 
lowed up in Judah. The word ''J^w" was a name first 
applied to members of the tribe of Judah about the 
time of the captivity. While the Jews were politically 
under the Roman yoke when Christ came, yet they 
maintained their religious observances and had a high 
priest. Hence Judah did not lose its tribal distinction 
nor its Lawgiver till Shiloh came. Thirty-nine years 
after Christ's death both the tribe of Judah and the 
Jewish high priest disappeared. 

3. The Messiah was to be preceded by a mes- 
senger who was to prepare his way, Mai. 3:1: "Be- 
hold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare 
the way before me." 

John the Baptist came as the forerunner of Christ. 
He said, "There cometh .one after me who is preferred 
before me." He came to prepare the way and to make 
his paths straight. He was to begin his work in the 
wilderness. In Isa. 40: 3, we read, "The voice of one 
that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of 
the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our 
God." Matthew sees the fulfillment of this in John 
the Baptist, Matt. 3:1-3: "And in those days cometh 
John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 
saying. Repent ye ; for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand. For this is he that was spoken of by Isaiah the 
prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wil- 
derness. Make ye ready the way of the Lord, make 
his paths straight." 

4. The place of his birth was foretold, Mic. 5:2: 



THE VIRGIN BIRTH 61 

"But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art Httle to 
be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall 
one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; 
whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting to 
everlasting." The Jews expected the Messiah to be 
born in Bethlehem. When Herod demanded of the 
chief priests where Jesus should be born they an- 
swered, 'Tn Bethlehem of Judea." 

Jesus Vv'-as born in Bethlehem. His mother did not 
live there, but many miles away in Nazareth. A decree 
of the king brought the mother to Bethlehem and the 
birth of Jesus took place during this temporary stay. 

The announcement of the angel to the shepherds 
on that memorable night was, "Behold, I bring you 
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a 
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Bethlehem was 
the city of David. There David was born and there 
Christ was born, thus fulfilling prophecy. 

5. The virgin birth and the worldly circumstances 
of the Messiah are matters of prophecy. In Gen. 
3: 15 we read: "And I will put enmity between thee 
and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed ; 
it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his 
heel." This is universally regarded as the first 
prophecy concerning Christ: vague, it is true, but still 
giving a hint of the coming Deliverer. 

Strange this Deliverer should be called the seed of 
the wom.m if he were to be born of two human parents. 
The custom was to speak of the seed as coming from 
the male progenitor, as, for instance, "seed of Abra- 
ham." If the promised seed were born of a virgin, 
this language is very natural. Paul says. Gal. 4:4, 
"God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under 

(6) 



62 THE KING OF KINGS 

the law, that he might redeem them which were un- 
der the law, that we might receive the adoption of 
sons." This language shows what Paul thought about 
Christ's parentage. If Jesus were the son of Joseph, 
why should Paul use the expression, "born of a 
woman"? Why did he not say, the son of Joseph? 
Christ was the seed of the woman. This accords with 
the promise made to Eve. 

The virgin birth is clearly foretold in other proph- 
ecies. Isaiah surpasses all others in the fullness of 
Messianic prediction. In chapter 7:13-17 we read: 
"'And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a 
small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary 
my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give 
you a sign ; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a 
son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and 
honey shall he eat, when he knoweth to refuse the 
evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall 
know to lefuse the evil, and choose the good, the land 
v/hose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken." 

Some writers think that this refers primarily to the 
birth of a child, possibly in the family of Ahaz, or in 
that of Isaiah, that should be a pledge to the prophet 
that God was defending Israel, and they interpret the 
name Immanuel to mean, not the divinity of the child, 
but that God is with us ; that is, with his people. We 
have no means of knowing whether such a child was 
born in the time of Isaiah or not, or whether he or his 
hearers looked for speedy fulfillment or not. If such a 
child was born he was typical of the Messiah, and 
the prophecy, like manv others, would be typical in- 
stead of direct. In the former case the fulfillment 
would corresDond to the type, in the latter to the direct 
predictions. Matthew, who wrote his Gospel primarily 



THE VIRGIN BIRTH 63 

for the Jews, and who consequently pointed out more 
than sixty fulfillments of Hebrew prophecy, refers to 
Christ as the fulfillment. Matt. 1:18-23: "Now the 
birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his 
mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before 
they came together she was found with child of the 
Holy Ghost. And Joseph her husband, being a right- 
eous man, and not willing to make her a public ex- 
ample, was minded to put her away privily. But when 
he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the 
Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, 
thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary, 
thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the 
Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son ; and 
thou shalt call his name Jesus ; for it is he that shall 
save his people from their sins. Now all this is come 
to pass that it might be fulfilled which was spoken 
by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold, the 
virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, 
and they shall call his name Immanuel ; which is, 
being interpreted, God with us." 
The specifications are as follows : 

(1) The child was to be born of a virgin. The 
old and the revised versions read, "A virgin shall con- 
ceive and bear a son." Those who make the prophecy 
typical, hold that the word rendered "virgin" means a 
marriageable woman, whether virgin or not, and they 
consequently incline to the view that the child prom- 
ised to Isaiah was of natural birth. But this flatly 
contradicts the statement of Matthew. 

(2) His name was to be Immanuel (God with us). 

(3) His infancy was to be spent in hardship: 
"Butter [or curds] and honey will he eat when he 
knoweth to refuse the evil and choose the good." This 



64 THE KING OF KINGS 

is the food of shepherds or people in very humble cir- 
cumstances. 

In Matthew's account of the birth of Christ and 
our knowledge of the circumstances of his early life, 
we see an exact fulfillment of the prophecy. The 
virgin birth, the name given and the worldly circum- 
stances of Joseph and Mary make the agreement 
complete. 

All this falls in perfect harmony with the angel's 
words to Mary, the mother of Christ. In Luke 1 : 26-35 
the angel Gabriel's visit to Mary is described and the 
virgin birth is foretold to her. He ended with these 
v/ords, "Therefore that which is to be born of thee 
shall be called holy, the Son of God." The prophet 
centuries before had said that the child born of 
the virgin shall be called 'Tmmanuel," that is, "God 
with us." 

This is the point against which skepticism has 
hurled its fiercest attacks. It is called unreasonable 
and unscientific. Is it more so than the appearance 
on earth of the first Adam? Science has neither been 
able to explain the one nor the other. If God sees fit 
to clothe himself in human form for purposes that are 
wise and beneficent, what more reasonable way than 
this could there be? As Beecher remarks, "What 
purer inlet into humanity could God select?" 

II. A large number of the important and striking^ 
events of Christ's life were foretold. 

1. The anointing of Christ by the Holy Spirit was 
predicted, Isa. 42:1: "Behold my servant, whom I 
uphold ; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth ; I 
have put my spirit upon him : he shall bring forth 
judgment to the Gentiles." This was fulfilled at the 
baptism of Christ. He was anointed by the Holy 



COMING TO THE TEMPLE FORETOLD 65 

Spirit to the threefold office of Prophet, Priest and 
King. Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me 
because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to 
the poor.'' 

2. The place of the beginning of His public life 
was foretold, Isa. 9: 1-3: "Bui there shall be no gloom 
to her that was in anguish. In the former time he 
brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the 
land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he made it 
glorious, by the way of the sea beyond Jordan, Galilee 
of the nations. The people that walked in darkness 
have seen a great light ; they that have dwelt in the 
land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light 
shined." 

Now place by the side of this Matthew's words. 
Matt. 4: 12-16: "Now when he heard that John was 
delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving 
Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is 
by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali; 
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah 
the prophet, saying: 

'The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, 
Toward the sea, beyond Jordan, 
Galilee of the Gentiles, 
The people which sat in darkness 
Saw a great light. 

And to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, 
To them did light spring up." 

Christ's ministry in Galilee is a clear fulfillment. 

3. The prophecy uttered by Malachi concerning 
the coming of Christ to the temple was fulfilled, Mai. 
3:1: "Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall 
prepare the way before me : and the Lord, whom ye 
seek, shall suddenly come to his temple ; and the mes- 



66 THE KING OF KINGS 

senger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold 
he Cometh, saith the Lord of hosts." 

We see that there was to be a messenger who 
would prepare the way, and he was to be followed by 
the messenger of the covenant, called also "the Lord 
whom ye seek." This messenger was to come to the 
temple, the second temple at Jerusalem, which 
was in existence when Malachi wrote. 

This prophecy was literally fulfilled : John the 
Baptist answers to the first messenger mentioned. 
*'He came to prepare the way of the Lord." Jesus 
Christ answers to this messenger of the covenant. He 
was the mediator of the new covenant. He came sud- 
denly to the Jewish temple. His brief life burst sud- 
denly upon the people, and during his ministry he was 
frequently in the temple. This temple was destroyed 
soon after Christ's death, which destruction was graph- 
ically foretold by him. 

4. We next turn our attention to the fulfillment 
of the prophecy of Haggai concerning the glory to be 
reflected on the temple by the coming of the Messiah, 
Hag. 2'.7\ ''And I will shake all nations, and the 
desirable things of all nations shall come, and I will fill 
this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts." 

The house here referred to was the second temple. 
The desire of all nations was the Messiah. His coming 
to the temple would fill it with glory. Christ by en- 
tering the temple filled it with its greatest glory. 
The personal presence of the Son of God was a 
greater glory than the presence of the high priest 
could lend to the temple, yea, even a greater glory 
than the symbols of the Deity found there, since God 
is greater than any symbolic representation of him, 
as much greater as substance is greater than shadow. 



MIRACLE-WORKING POWER FORETOLD 67 

5. Christ's miracle-working power was foretold, 
Isa. 35:5 6: ''Then the eyes of the blind shall be 
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the 
tongue of the dumb shall sing: for in the wilderness 
shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." 

Can any one read the record of Christ's life and 
not be struck by the exact agreement of events with 
this prophecy? The blind were made to see, the deaf 
to hear and the lame and paralytic were made to walk 
and leap. He was in very truth the great Physician 
of the body no less than of the soul. 

6. His triumphal entrance into Jerusalem was 
announced, Zech. 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter 
of Zion ; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem : behold, thy 
King Cometh unto thee; he is just and having salva- 
tion ; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt 
the foal of an ass." 

In this prophecy two points stand out prominent: 

The joy of Jerusalem : ''Exult greatly, O daughter 
of Zion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem." 
The cause of the joy is pointed out: "Lo, thy King 
cometh to thee." 

The manner of His coming is also declared, "Lowly 
and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of 
an ass." 

The fulfillment is striking: John, in describing 
Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, connects the 
incident with this particular prophecy, and his descrip- 
tion of the event shows its close agreement with the 
specifications, John 12: 12-16: "On the morrow a great 
multitude which had come to the feast, when they 
heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the 
branches of the palm trees, and went forth to meet 



•68- THE KING OF KINGS 

him, and cried out, Hosanna : Blessed is he that 
cometh in the name of the Lord, even the King of 
Israel. And Jesus, having found a young ass, sat 
thereon : as it is written. Fear not, daughter of Zion : 
Eehold, thy King cometh sitting on an ass's colt." 

7. Christ's betrayal is predicted and all the cir- 
cumstances of Christ's death are minutely and graph- 
ically set forth. Can any one read the fifty-third 
chapter of Isaiah and then read the account of 
the crucifixion and fail to see the exact agreement? 
The picture drawn by the prophet portrays Christ in 
every feature of his character, life and death. If the 
prophecy had been written after the life of Christ on 
earth had ended, the agreement could not have been 
more complete. His humility, the disappointment he 
■caused the Jews, their hatred of him, his submissive- 
ness when on trial, his mock trial, his death for sin, 
his place of burial, his innocence, his truthfulness, 
and thanks be to God, his resurrection, his successful 
work of grace, his intercessory office and his final vic- 
tory over all opposing powers, are all most graphically 
-and touchingly foretold.* 

* In Chapter VII. the specifications concerning his betrayal, 
trial and death are pointed out and the agreements cited. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Argument Based on the Prophecies Con- 
cerning Christ's Nature, Personal 
Characteristics and Offices. 

It is wonderful to note the many incidents in 
Christ's life which minutely fulfill the Old Testament 
prophecies, but the wonder grows when in his nature,, 
characteristics and official relations he answers com- 
pletely to the prophetic picture which had been so 
faithfully painted by Israel's prophet. Surely God has 
left men without excuse if they fail to recognize in 
Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah so fully portrayed in 
the Old Testament scriptures. No wonder the apos- 
tles of Christ used the prophetic argument so fre- 
quently and with such telling efifect, and the marvel 
is that it has ever fallen into disuse. I fear many 
have cast aside one of the strongest weapons in de- 
fending the claims of Christ by sheer neglect of the 
Messianic prophecies. I earnestly plead for a revival. 
This I regard as a vital part of the apostolic Chris- 
tianity for which we plead. Let us not only preach 
apostolic doctrine, but use apostolic argument. 

I call specific attention to the fact that : 

I. Christ's nature and character were matters of 
prophecy. 

1. The Messiah's divine nature was distinctly de- 
clared by the prophets. His eternity was clearly 

69 



70 THE KING OF KINGS 

taught, and this involves the doctrine of his divinity. 
In a Messianic passage, Mic. 5:2, we read, "Whose 
goings forth are from old, from everlasting." In John 
1:1, we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and 
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And 
the same was in the beginning with God, and the 
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." Jesus 
said, "Before Abraham was, I am." The writer of 
Hebrews, quoting from the 102d Psalm, and referring 
to Christ, says, "And thou, Lord, in the beginning 
liast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens 
are the works of thy hands," and in the second Psalm 
he is declared to be the Son of God in these words, 
■"Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee," 
which agrees with the announcement to Mary, "There- 
fore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall 
l)e called the Son of God." 

His equality with God is declared in Zech. 13 : 7, 
^'Awake, O sword, against my shepherd and against 
the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts." 
God, in pointing to the violent death of Christ, calls 
him his "fellow." Jesus said, "I and my Father are 
one." Paul says of Christ, Phil. 2 : 6^ "Who being in 
the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal 
with God." Also in Tim. 3 : 16, "And without con- 
troversy great is the mystery of godliness" (that is, 
of "godlikeness"). "God was manifest in the flesh." 

2. His personal characteristics were clearly fore- 
told. 

(1) Christ's obedience is predicted, Psa. 40:7, 8: 

"Then said I, Lo, I come : 
In the roll of the hook it is written of me : 
I delight to do thy will, O my God ; 
Yea, thy law is within my heart." 



CHRISTS DIVINE NATURE FORETOLD 71 

In Deut. 18:18 we read, "I will raise them up a 
Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, 
and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall 
speak unto them all that I shall command him." 

Both of these passages are Messianic and refer to 
the Messiah's obedience. Christ said, John 12:49, 
"For I spake not from myself: but the Father which 
sent me, he hath given me a commandment, what I 
should say, and what I should speak." Again John 
6:38, "For I came down from heaven not to do my 
will, but the will of him that sent me." In Geth- 
semane Christ said, "Father, if thou be willing, re- 
move this cup from me : nevertheless not my will, but 
thine be done." Also he said. "I have finished the 
work that thou gavest me to do." 

(2) His compassion was foretold, Isa. 61 : 1-3 : 
"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me : because the 
Lord hath appointed me to preach good tidings unto 
the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken- 
hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the 
opening of the prison to them that are bound ; to pro- 
claim the acceptable year of the Lord^ and the day of 
vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to 
appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto 
them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, 
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." 
Christ declared that he came to seek and to save the 
lost. It is said the common people heard him gladly. 
His compassion was wonderful. He wept at the grave 
of Lazarus. He raised the widow's son. The sick and 
unfortunate never appealed to him in vain. A beauti- 
ful instance is seen when the adulteress is brought 
before him. He said, "Let him that is without sin cast 
the first stone." He spoke kindly to the sinful woman 



72 THE KING OF KINGS 

who washed his feet with her tears. Under the old 
dispensation the leper was cast out without the camp, 
but the Founder of the new dispensation touched the 
leper and he was cleansed. Under the inspiration of 
that example all the eleemosynary institutions of the 
world have sprung up. Under the reign of this "King 
of kings and Lord of lords," this "Prince of peace," 
for whom the isles have waited, lepers are being 
cleansed to-day — moral lepers : and the deaf, the blind, 
the sick, the halt and lame are being provided for. 
The unfortunate are not cast without the camp as of 
old, but our glorious King, in the fullness of his heart 
of love, stretches out his arms to the whole world. 

(3) His love of righteousness was foretold, Psa. 
45:7: "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated 
wickedness : therefore God, thy God, hath anointed 
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." 

Jesus hated sin as God hates sin. He waged con- 
tinual warfare against it. He loved righteousness and 
all who worked righteousness. "He that hath my 
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that 
loveth me. Whosoever shall do the will of my Father 
who is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister 
and mother." 

(4) Christ's power to excite wonder; his ability 
as a counsellor; his equality with God; the peaceful 
character of his government and its eternal perpetuity 
are all declared, Isa. 9 : 5-7 : "For all the armour of 
the armed men in the tumult, and the garments rolled 
in blood, shall even be for burning, for fuel of fire. 
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given ; 
and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and 
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, 
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." 



CHRIST'S CHARACTERISTICS FORETOLD 73 

What has been the verdict of the most thoughtful in 
all ages since Christ came, upon these points? He 
was the wonder of men when here on earth and he has 
continued to excite the wonder of men in all ages 
since. Truly his name is called Wonderful. His wis- 
dom as counsellor and teacher is no longer a question 
of debate. His answers to difficult questions, although 
perfectly extemporaneous, have never had to be 
amended."^' The principles he enunciated have always 
been applicable to the world's needs, and they are as 
fresh to-day and as effective as when they were 
uttered. He marches in front of our ever-advancing 
humanity, "the wisest among the wise, and the 
mightiest among the mighty." He is not simply a 
great teacher, but the great teacher of all the ages, 
and he holds this place by common consent, none 
being able to dispute his claim. He also claimed to 
be God manifest in the flesh. He said^ "He that hath 
seen me hath seen the Father." "I and my Father 
are one." The apostle declared that, "He thought it 
not a prize to be equal with God." His method of 
conquest also agrees with the prophecy. "Put up thy 
sword," he said to Peter; "they that take the sword 
shall perish with the sword." He conquers the cold, 
stony, rebellious heart of man like the sun conquers 
the dreary bleakness of winter, by the gentle influence 
of kindly heat that is poured out upon the world. His 
mighty victories are bloodless, but none the less 
decisive. 

II. Christ's manifold ofBces are all prophetically 
announced. 

1. His office as prophet is declared. In Deut. 



■ Subsequent chapters deal with these points in a larger way. 



74 THE KING OF KINGS 

18: 15 we read, ''The Lord thy God will raise up unto 
thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, 
like unto me ; unto him ye shall hearken." 

This function of Christ was generally recognized 
when he was here on earth. The Samaritan woman, 
when Jesus recounted to her the incidents of her life, 
said, "I perceive thou art a prophet" — John 3:19. 
Matthew tells us the Jews feared to put Jesus to death 
because the multitude regarded him as a prophet — 
Alatt. 14:5. Jesus himself claimed to be a prophet. 
He said^ "A prophet is not without honor save in his 
own country." 

In the broad sense of prophet, that of teacher, 
Christ was supreme. Truly it was said of him, "He 
spake as never man spake." In the narrower sense, 
that of foretelling future events, Christ stands un- 
equaled. His utterances abound in predictions that 
were literally fulfilled. He foretold his betrayal, and 
who it was that would betray him. He foretold his 
own death, resurrection and ascension, and the coming 
of the Holy Spirit. He foretold the destruction of 
Jerusalem and specified many minute details and cir- 
cumstances, all of which predictions have been lit- 
erally fulfilled. He foretold his second coming, which 
is still future, but in the light of his character and in 
view of the accurate fulfillment of so many of his 
predictions, we may confidently await the fulfill- 
ment of this greatest of all events toward which the 
world is tending. Jesus will come again, not as a 
babe born in a manger; not to be buffeted and mocked 
and crucified, but as a triumphant conqueror. "He 
shall not fail nor be discouraged," the prophet de- 
clared. Jesus will come attended by angels on a 
double mission: to take vengeance on them that "know 



CHRIST'S OFFICE AS PRIEST FORETOLD 75 

not God and obey not his gospel, and, blessed assur- 
ance, to make up his jewels and take his ransomed 
people home. To this second coming his true dis- 
ciples look forward with confidence and hope. 

2. His office as priest is foretold in verbal and 
typical prophecy. His priesthood was typified in 
Melchizedek, to whom Abraham ofifered tithes. In 
Psa'. 110:4 we have this language, "The Lord hath 
sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever 
after the order of Melchizedek." Aaron was also a 
type of the high priest under the new dispensation, as 
were also his successors in office, and the victims they 
offered, the blood of which could not take away sin, 
were typical of the great efficacious sacrifice which 
was finally to be made once for all. 

Jesus Christ fulfilled these types and predictions. 
The Book of Hebrews emphasizes very strongly 
Christ's priestly office, as the following passages show : 
21 : 7, "Wherefore it behoved him in all things to be 
made like unto his brethren, that he might be a mer- 
ciful and faithful priest in things pertaining to God, 
to make propitiation for the sins of the people." 3: 1, 
"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly 
calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our 
confession, even Jesus." 4: 14, 15, "Having then a 
high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, 
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 
For we have not a high priest that can no"^. be touched 
with the feeling of our infirmities ; but one that hath 
been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without 
sin." 5 : 9, 10, "And having been made perfect, he 
became unto all them that obey him the author of 
salvation ; named of God a high priest after the order 
of Melchizedek." 8:1, 2, "Now in the things which 



76 THE KING OF KINGS 

we are saying the chief point is this : We have such a 
high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the 
throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of 
the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the 
Lord pitched, not man." 9:11, 12, "But Christ hav- 
ing come a high priest of the good things to come, 
through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not 
made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 
nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but 
through his own blood, entered in once for all into 
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption." 
10: 19-24, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to 
enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by 
the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living 
way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and 
having a great priest over the house of God ; let us 
draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having 
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience : and hav- 
ing our body washed with pure water, let us hold fast 
the confession of our hope that it waver not ; for he is 
faithful that promised." 6:19, 20, "Which we have 
as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and stead- 
fast and entering into that which is within the veil ; 
whither as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having 
become a high priest forever after the order of 
Mechizedek." 

The priesthood of Jesus is thus abundantly attested 
in these scriptures, and by other New Testament 
writers as well. Sin, being transgression against an 
infinitely pure and holy and righteous God, demanded 
an infinite sacrifice. Hence Christ, who was God man- 
ifest in the flesh, offered himself, the only infinite sac- 
rifice possible. Through the merits of this sacrifice 
there is now actual remission of sin, not prospective 



CHRIST'S OFFICE AS KING FORETOLD 77 

remission, as was the case under the Mosaic law until 
it was abolished by the death of Christ. Men may 
refuse to believe that there is salvation in and through 
the blood of Christ, and may ridicule the doctrine of 
atonement, but the doctrine is sustained by abundant 
teaching in the scriptures, and is demanded by the 
logic of the case. 

3. His office as King is also graphically set forth 
in prophecy. 

In Psa. 2 : 6 we read, ''Yet I have set my King upon 
my holy hill of Zion." That this is Messianic appears 
from the following verses, Psa. 2 : 7-12 : 

I will tell of the. decree : 

The Lord said unto me, Thou art my Son ; 

This day have I begotten thee. 

Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, 

And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; 

Thou shalt break them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 

Now therefore be wise, O ye kings : 

Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 

Serve the Lord with fear, 

And rejoice with trembling. 

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, 

For his wrath will soon be kindled. 

Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. 

How beautifully this accords with the prediction, 
"He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set 
judgment in the earth and the isles shall wait for his 
law." 

Christ boldly claimed this office. When Pilate 
said, "Art thou a king then?" Jesus said, "Thou sayest 
that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and 
to this end am I come into the world that I should 
bear witness to the truth." The accusation that the 

(7) 



78 THE KING OF KINGS 

Jews made against him before Pilate was that he 
claimed '\o be a king. 

It seems to me this part of the subject would be 
incomplete without the beautiful Messianic passage 
descriptive of his entrance into heaven to take his seat 
on the throne, Psa. 24:7-10: 

Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; 

And be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors : 

And the King of glory shall come in. 

Who is the King of glory? 

The Lord strong and mighty, 

The Lord mighty in battle. 

Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; 

Yea, lift them up, ye everlasting doors : 

And the King of glory shall come in. 

Who is this King of glory? 

The Lord of hosts, 

He is the King of glory. 

Jesus with his triumphal army entered through 
the uplifted gates and God said to him, Psa. 110: 1, 
''Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies 
thy footstool." 

So the great apostle to the Gentiles understood 
this matter. In 1 Cor. 15:14-27 we read, "Then 
cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the king- 
dom to God, even the Father ; when he shall have 
abolished all rule and all authority and power. For 
he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under 
his feet. The last enemy that shall be abolished is 
death." 

Thus it is seen that the prophets ascribed to the 
coming Messiah the threefold office of Prophet, Priest 
and King, and Jesus Christ fulfills these prophecies, 
meeting their requirements in every particular. 

4. The office of king implies the office of law- 



CHRIST'S OFFICE AS LAWGIVER FORETOLD 79 

giver. Isaiah, in chapter 42:4, said, "The isles shall 
wait for his law." The fulfillment of this prophecy is 
abundantly shown in the New Testament writings. 
Jesus himself assumed the prerogative of expanding 
and amplifying the law. He said, "Ye have heard 
that it was said to them of old time. Thou slialt not 
kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of 
judgment; but I say unto you that every one who is 
angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judg- 
ment. Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not 
commit adultery, but I say unto you that every man 
that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath com- 
mitted adultery already in his heart. Again it was 
said by one of old time. Thou shall not forswear 
thyself, but shall perform unto the Lord thy oath, 
but I say unto you, Swear not at all." He also as- 
serted his authority in the following words : "He 
that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth 
them I will liken him unto a wise man that built his 
house upon a rock." "Ye are my friends if ye do what- 
soever I command you." In giving His great com- 
mission, He said, "All authority in heaven and in 
earth is given unto me. Go 3^e therefore and teach all 
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all 
things whatsoever I have commanded you." On one 
occasion He said, "If ye keep my commandments ye 
shall abide in my love, even as I keep my Father's 
commandments and abide in his love ;" consequently 
Paul says, "I determined to know nothing among you 
but Jesus and him crucified." He also declared that 
God had "put all things in subjection under his feet." 
John in closing up his wonderful revelation says : 
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they 



80 THE KING OF KINGS 

may have a right to the tree of life and may enter in 
through the gates into the city." 

God desired that we should thoroughly understand 
the authority of Jesus, accordingly he took him unto 
a mountain together with Peter, James and John. 
Moses, who had given the law from Sinai, and Elijah, 
who had been the great restorer of the law, were sum- 
moned to be present. Moses and Elijah were repre- 
sentatives of the other world; Peter, James and John 
were witnesses from this world. A voice came from 
heaven, saying: "This is my beloved Son in whom I 
am well pleased; hear ye him." God said in effect: 
*'Ye have heard Moses and Elijah, I now declare my 
Son to be the Lawgiver; hear ye him." We are 
now, therefore, to hear Christ. He is our Lawgiver. 
Moses' authority has ceased ; his law was good and 
perfect for its time and purpose, but as a final system 
it was not perfect, so Paul declared. Just as a boy 
might be perfect in his place, but not as a man, so the 
law of Moses was perfect as an intermediate step to 
serve as a preparatory measure, but not perfect as a 
complete system for all men and all times. Christ's 
law is the perfect law of liberty by which men are 
made free, while Moses' law tended to bondage, as 
law not written in the heart must inevitably do. 

5. Christ's office as Judge is also declared in 
prophecy, Isa. 2 : 4, "And he shall judge between the 
nations, and shall reprove many peoples : and they 
shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their 
spears into pruning-hooks ; nation shall not lift up 
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war 
any more." His function as Judge is exercised in 
kindness and love. 

What a beautiful picture is here given of the Prince 



PICTURE OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE 81 

of peace, and how admirably it accords with the song 
of the angels, ''Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth peace and good will to men." Christ came to 
inaugurate the reign of peace. He did not come to 
take up the sword : he came to establish his spiritual 
kingdom in which war and bloodshed would be un- 
known, whose citizens would be ruled by love to God 
and love to man. In Isa. 42 : 1-4 and 6-9, we read : 
"Behold my servant whom I uphold; my chosen, in 
whom my soul delighteth ; I have put my spirit upon 
him ; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 
He shall not cry nor. lift up, nor cause his voice to be 
heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break 
and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall 
bring forth judgment in truth. He shall not fail nor 
be discouraged till he hath set judgment in the earth 
and the isles shall wait for his law." ''I the Lord have 
called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, 
and will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the 
people, for a light of the Gentiles ; to open the blind 
eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and 
them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." 

How completely all this accords with the beneficent 
character of Jesus Christ as Judge. The bruised reed 
he does not break, the smoking flax he does not 
quench. The unfortunate ones who are trodden under 
the iron heel of a heartless world he lifts up and sus- 
tains and gives to them new life and vigor. Those in 
whose hearts the flame of hope burns low, he encour- 
ages ; he fans the smoking wick of the nearly extin- 
guished hope until it glows again with a bright and 
holy flame. If he judges in righteousness, it is tem- 
pered with mercy. When he was here on earth the 
common people heard him gladly and even the sinful 



82 THE KING OF KINGS 

were drawn to him by the genial warmth of his 
presence and the compassion of his infinite heart, and 
in all the ages since he has been the prophet of the 
common people, the friend of sinners and the hope 
of the sorrowing. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Argument Based on the Fulfillment of 

Prophecies Concerning Christ's Death, 

Burial, Resurrection and 

Ascension. 

1. The death, burial and resurrection of Christ are 
the central facts of the gospel. Paul says, "Moreover, 
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I 
preached unto you, which also ye have received, and 
wherein ye stand. By which also ye are saved if ye 
keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless 
ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you 
first of all that which I also received, how that Christ 
died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that 
he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, 
according to the scriptures" — 1 Cor. 15: 1-3. Also he 
says, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not 
with excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto 
you the testimony of God. For I determined not to 
know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and him 
crucified" — 1 Cor. 2:1, 2. 

2. The death of Jesus was prefigured by type for 

four thousand years. When Abel offered his animal 

sacrifice it pointed to Calvary. When the patriarchs 

ofifered the slain victim on their rude altars, the death 

of Jesus was set forth. All blood that flowed from 

Jewish altars spoke of the blood of Christ. Every 

animal sacrifice was a fingerboard pointing down the 

line of the ages to the one great sacrifice to be made 

83 



84 THE KING OF KINGS 

once for all. The death of Christ was the great theme 
of the prophets. Isaiah graphically describes the scene 
of Christ's suffering and death, as we saw in a previous 
chapter. This was uppermost in the mind of John the 
Baptist when he exclaimed, ''Behold the Lamb of God 
that taketh away the sins of the world." It was ever 
present in the mind of Christ himself. From his bap- 
tism in the Jordan, his road lay toward Calvary, and 
from this he never turned his face. He frequently 
spoke of his death. On the mount of transfiguration, 
when Moses and Elijah appeared and talked with 
Christ, the theme of conversation was his death at 
Jerusalem. 

As we near the close of Christ's life there is a 
wonderful definiteness in prophecy and fulfillment. 
This fact points to the far-reaching significance of 
this thrilling scene which we do well to carefully 
study. Let us with reverent spirits listen to the won- 
derful utterances of the prophets of God, and respect- 
fully consider the marvelous fulfillments. 

I. The incidents connected with His death were 
minutely foretold. 

1. Christ's rejection by the Jews was predicted. 
Isa. 53:2, 3, "He hath no form nor comeliness; and 
when we see him there is no beauty that we should 
desire him. He was despised, and rejected of men; a 
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief ; and one 
from whom men hide their faces. He was despised, 
and we esteemed him not." The fulfillment is unmis- 
takable. In John 1: 11 we read, ''He came unto his 
own, and they that were his own received him not." 
His rejection by the Jews is here declared, and it 
corresponds with the prophetic utterance, "He is 
despised, and rejected of men." In Matt. 27: 22, 23 we 



CHRIST'S BETRAYAL FORETOLD 85 

read, "What shall I do unto Jesus which is called 
Christ? They all say, Let him be crucified. And he 
said. Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried 
out exceedingly, saying. Let him be crucified." These 
are the questions of Pilate and the answers of the 
people when Christ was on trial. How marvelously 
close the agreement with the prophecy read. If the 
prophecy had been written after the events transpired 
the correspondence could not have been more com- 
plete. 

2. His betrayal was foretold. Zech. 11 : 12, 13. In 
this chapter the prophet evidently impersonates the 
Messiah. The incident hence becomes prophetic — 
''And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my 
hire ; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire 
thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me. 
Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was 
priced at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of 
silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of 
the Lord." The betrayal of Christ for thirty pieces of 
silver and the purchase of the potter's field is signifi- 
cantly pointed out in this circumstance. 

Note these points in the prophecy : That the 
Messiah would be sold or betrayed for a price. This 
price would be thirty pieces of silver. This money 
would be given or cast to the potter in the house of 
the Lord. The fulfillment is close. Judas betrayed 
Christ for a price. The money given him was thirty 
pieces of silver. Through remorse Judas brings back 
the money, and the priests refuse to put the money in 
the treasury since it was the price of blood, and hence 
agreed to purchase the potter's field with it. 

3. Many incidents of the trial and crucifixion are 
clearly predicted. 



86 THE KING OF KINGS 

(1) Christ's demeanor when on trial. Isa. 53:7, 
''He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted opened 
not his mouth ; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, 
and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb, so he 
opened not his mouth." The fulfillment is very re- 
markable. During the trial the high priest arose and 
said, ''Answerest thou nothing? What is it that these 
witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace." 
Matt. 26:62, Again we read, "Then saith Pilate unto 
him, Hearest thou how many things they witness 
against thee? And he gave him no answer, not even 
to one word ; in so much that the governor marvelled 
greatly"— Matt. 27: 13, 14. Here again the fulfillment 
is complete. 

(2) The indignities heaped upon him were fore- 
told. In a Messianic passage in Isa. 50: 6, we read, 'T 
gave my back to the smiters and my cheek to them 
that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame 
and spitting." Note the fulfillment. Matthew says, 
Matt. 26: 67, ''Then did they spit in his face and buffet 
him ; and smote him with the palms of their hands, 
saying. Prophesy unto us, thou Christ; who is he that 
struck thee?" Also, Matt. 27:26, "But Jesus he [Pi- 
late] scourged and delivered to be crucified." Thus 
we see that his terrible scene of persecution, the 
smiting, buffeting, scourging and even the spitting 
upon him were all in the vision of the prophet seven 
hundred and fifty years before it transpired. Could 
there be a stronger line of evidence than this? 

(3) The mocking which Christ's enemies indulged 
in was foretold. In a Messianic Psalm we read, Psa. 
22 : 6-8, "But I am a worm, and no man ; a reproach 
of men, and despised of the people. All they that see 
me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they 



INCIDENTS OF THE CRUCIFIXION 87 

shake the head, saying, Commit thyself unto the Lord ; 
let him deliver him, seeing he delighteth in him." 

Matt. 27:39, "And they that passed by railed on 
him, wagging their heads and saying. Thou that de- 
stroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save 
thyself; if thou art the Son of God, come down from 
the cross. In like manner also the chief priests mocked 
him, with the scribes and the elders, saying. He saved 
others; himself he can not save. He is the King of 
Israel ; let him now come down from the cross, and 
we will believe on him. He trusteth in God ; let him 
deliver him now, if he desireth him ; for he said, I am 
the Son of God." Even the very language of Christ's 
persecutors was foretold by the prophet, and yet 
some tell us there is no specific prophecy. 

(4) Christ, according to prophecy, was to be 
pierced. We read in Zech. 12: 10, ''And I will pour 
upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication ; and 
they shall look unto me whom they have pierced ; and 
they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his 
only son." Psa. 22 : 16, "For dogs have compassed me ; 
the assembly of evil-doers have enclosed me ; they 
pierced my hands and my feet." 

John says, chapter 19:34-37, "Howbeit one of the 
soldiers with a spear pierced his side." His hands and 
feet were also pierced with nails, thus fulfilling 
prophecy to the letter. 

(5) No bones were to be broken. The paschal lamb 
slain every year was a type of Christ. Its bones were 
not broken. This was fulfilled in the slaying of the 
true Paschal Lamb. It was customary to break the 
limbs of those crucified. The soldiers came and brake 
the legs of the two others crucified with Christ, but 



88 THE KING OF KINGS 

when they came to him and found him dead, they 
did not break his legs. 

(6) His manner of death was foretold. The 
piercing of his hands and feet already referred to, 
Psa. 22:16, indicates crucifixion. "He shall be cut 
off from the land of the living." This indicates a vio- 
lent death. Prophecy and fact thus closely agree. 

(7) He was to be numbered with transgressors. 
Isa. 53 : 12 says, ''Therefore will I divide him a portion 
with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the 
strong: because he poured out his soul unto death, 
and was numbered with the transgressors ; yet he bare 
the sin of many, and made intercession for the trans- 
gressors." Christ was crucified between two thieves. 
Matt. 27 : 38, ''Then are there crucified with him two 
robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left." 
Christ also uttered a prayer for his enemies, "Father, 
forgive them, for they know not what they do." 

(8) Even his burial was a fulfillment of prophecy. 
Isa. 53 : 9, "And they made his grave with the wicked, 
and with the rich in his death." It was doubtless the 
Jews' intention to bury Jesus with the wicked. He 
was crucified between thieves and would doubtless 
have been buried with them had not a rich man, 
Joseph of Arimathea, begged the body of Pilate and 
laid it in his own new tomb, assisted by Nicodemus, 
thus fulfilling the prophecy to the letter. His grave 
was appointed with the wicked, but he was with the 
rich in his death. 

II. The resurrection of Christ is a subject of 
prophecy. 

1. The predictions are clear and pointed. Isa. 
53: 10, 11, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he 
hath put him to grief ; when thou shalt make his soul 



JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD 89 

an offering of sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong 
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper 
in his hand." This clearly points to the resurrection. 
Psa. 16:9, 10, "Therefore my heart is glad, and my 
glory rejoiceth : my flesh also shall dwell in safety. 
For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol ; neither wilt 
thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption." 

Jesus foretold his own death and resurrection. 
Matt. 20: 18, 19, ''Behold we go up to Jerusalem; and 
the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests 
and scribes ; and they shall condemn him to death, 
and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles to mock and 
to scourge, and to crucify: and the third day he shall 
be raised up." 

2. Did Jesus arise from the dead?''' 

That Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross, that his 
body was laid in Joseph's tomb, that a stone was 
rolled to the door and the seal of government placed 
upon it, that a guard of soldiers was placed around 
the tomb, and finally that the tomb was found empty 
on the morning of the third day, are matters not in 
dispute. But two explanations of the missing body 
have ever been offered : First, the explanation offered 
by the disciples of Christ that he had risen from the 
dead; second, the explanation of Christ's enemies, that 
his disciples had stolen the body while the guards 
slept. Which of these explanations shall we accept? 

To my mind the proofs of the claim of Christ's 
disciples are overwhelming. The minute circum- 
stances accompanying the resurrection are given in 
detail: The coming of the women to the sepulchre. 



* In the author's book, entitled 'The Commission Executed," 
is a chapter on "The Resurrection of Christ," to which the reader 
is referred for a more elaborate argument of the question. 



90 THE KING OF KINGS 

the earthquake, the appearance of the angel, the fear 
of the guards and their flight, the angel's announce- 
ment to the women of the resurrection, and the coming 
of Peter and John and the discovery; in fact, the whole 
story as recorded is entirely consistent with the idea 
that Jesus rose from the dead. It is just such a story 
as we might expect under all the circumstances. There 
is not a single improbable circumstance recorded when 
taken in connection with the stupendous miracle of 
the resurrection. 

The subsequent appearances are too numerous and 
unmistakable to admit of any doubt or deception. 
Nine dififerent appearances are recorded before His 
ascension, under circumstances that permitted the 
reality to be thoroughly tested, which means that the 
appearances were actual facts, or the disciples were 
guilty of deliberate fraud. This latter supposition is 
not tenable for several reasons : 

First, there is no discoverable motive for fraud. 
There was no possible advantage to be gained, and 
men do not deliberately perpetrate a fraud without 
some real or imaginary advantage to be secured by 
it. On the contrary, the disciples had much to lose 
by deception. All their worldly prospects were 
jeopardized by the testimony they bore, and even their 
lives were put in peril. Men do not risk life for a 
falsehood without prospect of gain. In the second 
place, their teachings were opposed to every form of 
deception. They propagated the loftiest code of morals 
the world has ever seen, and, if their testimony con- 
cerning the resurrection was false, they did this while 
practicing a monstrous deception, which is unthink- 
able. They also began to give their testimony in the 
very place that impostors would have avoided, namely, 



JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD 91 

where the facts were alleged to have occurred, and 
consequently where refutation would have been easy 
if their testimony had been false, and, moreover, they 
were consistent to the end, surrendering up their lives 
rather than retract. Then, if they could not have been 
deceived and did not perpetrate a falsehood, their tes- 
timony must be accepted. 

On the other hand, the explanation for the missing 
body offered by the enemies of Christ is most unrea- 
sonable. The friends of Christ could not have stolen 
the body. A Roman guard, consisting presumably of 
sixty men, surrounded the tomb, and it was at the time 
of full moon, making the discovery of such an attempt, 
had it been made, absolutely sure, for certainly a whole 
guard would not sleep at the same time. Furthermore, 
for a guard to sleep on duty meant to incur the death 
penalty, and for the disciples to have broken the seal 
placed upon the stone meant for them to have incurred 
the death penalty on their part. Moreover, the guards 
stultify themselves when they testify that the disciples 
stole the body while they slept, for they were incom- 
petent to testify concerning what transpired while 
they slept. 

Last of all, let it be borne in mind that the dis- 
ciples were too timid and disheartened to make any 
attempt to steal the body. 

As to the supposition that, the enemies stole the 
body, which was at one time put forth, I reply, they 
had no motive for such an act ; on the contrary, every 
reason to prevent it. and if they had stolen it they 
would have produced it gladly when Christ's disciples 
put forth the claim that he had risen from the dead, 
for thus they would have completely overwhelmed 
them in their perfidy and deception. 



92 THE KING OF KINGS 

Here I am content to rest the case. The proofs for 
the resurrection of Christ are so overwhelming that 
the best judicial minds accept it as a fact amply estab- 
lished by indubitable testimony. The doctrine of the 
resurrection of our Lord is fundamental to Chris- 
tianity, and the apostles so regarded it, as their teach- 
ings abundantly show. 

III. The ascension of Christ is clearly foretold. 

1. The prophecies are beautiful and striking. In 
Psa. 68: 18 we read, "Thou hast ascended on high. 
Thou hast led captivity captive ; thou hast received 
gifts among men, yea, among the rebellious also, that 
the Lord might dwell with them." The specifications 
in this prophecy may be enumerated thus : 

(1) His ascension is foretold. 

(2) He was to lead captive captivity; i. e., death. 

(3) He was to receive gifts among men, or other- 
wise rendered for men. 

(4) These were the rebellious. 

(5) The purpose was that God might dwell 
among men. 

Again we read, Psa. 24: 7-10, ''Lift up your heads, 
O ye gates ; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors ; 
and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the 
King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of 
glory." 

2. The fulfillments are not less beautiful and 
striking. Acts 1:9-11, "And when he had said these 
things, as they were looking, he was taken up, and a 
cloud received him out of their sight. And while they 
were looking steadfastly into heaven as he went, be- 
hold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which 
also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking 
into heaven? This Jesus which was received up from 



JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD 9a 

you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye 
beheld him going into heaven." 

We can not verify the prophecy concerning His 
entrance into heaven, but having traced the fulfill- 
ment of the many predictions concerning Christ thus 
far, we feel sure the event took place as David, by the 
Spirit of the Lord, described it. Jesus, having re- 
ceived the promise of the Holy Spirit, sent him down 
on the Pentecost that occurred soon after the ascen- 
sion. Thus having ascended on high he received gifts 
for men, even for the rebellious that God might dwell 
among men. 

Thus we see that the events of Christ's life from 
his birth to his coronation as King of kings and Lord 
of lords were minutely foretold, and the fulfillments 
are accurate in every particular. 

I can do no better than to close by a quotation 
from the distinguished infidel, Renan. How an unbe- 
liever could utter such words, I do not pretend to 
understand : 

"Repose now in thy glory, noble Founder. Thy 
work is finished; thy divinity is established. Fear 
no more to see the edifice of thy labors fall by any 
fault. Henceforth, beyond the reach of frailty, thou 
shalt witness from the heights of divine peace, the 
infinite results of thy acts. At the price of a few 
hours of suffering, which did not even reach thy grand 
soul, thou hast bought the most complete immor- 
tality. For thousands of years the world will depend 
on thee. Banner of our contests, thou shalt be the 
standard about which the hottest battles will be 
fought. A thousand times more alive, a thousand 
times more loved, since thy death than during the 
passage here below. Thou shalt become the corner- 

(8) 



94 THE KING OF KINGS 

stone of humanity so entirely that to bear thy name 
from the world would be to rend it to its foundation. 
Between thee and God there will no longer be any 
distinction. Complete conqueror of death, take pos- 
session of thy kingdon), whither shalt follow thee, 
by the royal road which thou has traced, ages of 
worshipers." — Renan's "Life of Jesus," page 350. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Argument Based on the Prophecies 
Concerning Christ's Kingdom. 

1. A universal spiritual kingdom to continue 
through all the ages and even throughout eternity is 
a conception as unique as it is wonderful, and entirely 
worthy of the divine origin claimed for it. This king- 
dom is not something visionary or unsubstantial, but a 
real government, exercising its authority over . men 
in the spiritual realm. It is not its purpose to sup- 
plant temporal governments, or in any way interfere 
with them, or exercise its authority over them except 
in so far as they may be influenced by the principles 
of the spiritual kingdom implanted in the people and 
their rulers, thus modifying forms of government and 
their laws and institutions. The so-called Christian 
governments, in their character and laws, furnish 
to-day a forceful illustration of the transforming 
power of the principles and doctrines of the spiritual 
kingdom. The systems of popular education and the 
eleemosynary institutions supported at public expense 
owe their existence to the principles of the great spir- 
itual kingdom, of which Christ is the head, which 
have saturated the thought of mankind in all Chris- 
tian lands. In short, the kingdom of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ, or as it is otherwise designated 
in the New Testament, "The Church of Christ," fur- 
nishes the highest form of religion the world has ever 

95 



96 THE KING OF KINGS 

seen, and we may well believe the highest possible to 
man, and indirectly it dominates the best govern- 
ments of the world, and directly and indirectly it is 
responsible for all forms of benevolent and philan- 
thropic work. 

2. This wonderful kingdom existed in the pur- 
pose of God through all eternity. The Book of Rev- 
elation, in speaking of the conferring of the eternal 
reward upon the righteous, says : ''Come, ye blessed 
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world." This is not a new 
kingdom, but the one that is called the everlasting 
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and 
is the continuation of the spiritual kingdom of which 
Christ is now the King. At 'the consummation of 
Christ's mediatorial reign, he will deliver up this 
kingdom to God the Father, that "He may be a'll 
in all." 

We may, therefore, reasonably expect that this 
kingdom which had an existence in the eternal pur- 
pose of God would be a subject of prophecy, and we 
are not disappointed. When we turn to the Old Testa- 
ment scriptures we find that: 

I. The time and place of the inauguration of the 
kingdom are definitely predicted. 

1. The place where it would be set up is indi- 
cated in Mic. 4:2: "And many nations shall go and 
say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of 
the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob ; and 
he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his 
paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the 
word of the Lord from Jerusalem." 

The writer of Hebrews says, Heb. 12 : 18-23, "For 
ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, 



THE PLACE AND TIME OF THE BEGINNING 97 

and that burned with fire, and unto blackness and 
darkness, and tempest and the sound of a trumpet, 
and the voice of words ; which voice they that heard 
entreated that no word more should be spoken unto 
them." This undoubtedly refers to the giving of the 
law at Mt. Sinai. The Hebrew Christians are reminded 
that they had not come to Sinai for their law — ''but 
ye are come unto mount Zion, unto the city of the liv- 
ing God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable 
hosts of angels, to the general assembly and church 
of the firstborn." This Zion or Jerusalem is the 
place from which the law went forth, and the Hebrew 
Christians are reminded that this was the law to 
which they had come. In the same connection they 
are admonished not to refuse him that speaketh from 
heaven. This refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, the 
Mediator of the new covenant. 

Is it not very remarkable that centuries before the 
new institution was established, a prophet of the 
people that had received their law on Sinai through 
Moses declared that the new law should go forth from 
Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and 
is it not equally wonderful that when the new law 
went forth, Jerusalem was the place where it was 
first promulgated? 

2. The time for the inauguration of the kingdom 
is also pointed out. The Mosaic dispensation was a 
typical institution. Its worship was a typical wor- 
ship ; its tabernacle, temple, priests and oiTerings were 
all typical of the coming kingdom. We would con- 
sequently expect that the inauguration of this dis- 
pensation would typify the inauguration of the new. 
The covenant with the Jewish nation was made at 
Sinai fifty days after the Passover feast, commem- 



98 THE KING OF KINGS 

orating the deliverance of the Israelites from bondage 
by the slaying of the firstborn of the Egyptians. We 
would expect therefore that the inauguration of the 
new institution would correspond to the type which 
is furnished us in the promulgation of the law from 
Sinai, which was God's covenant with Israel. 

Is it not an impressive fact that the correspondence 
is complete? The Passover was kept during the week 
in which Christ was crucified. Just fifty days after, 
counting from the Sabbath of Passover week, was the 
day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came in ac- 
cordance with his promise and the new institution was 
formally inaugurated. Jesus Christ had given his 
commission to his apostles, but had told them to 
tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power 
from on high. They were waiting according to in- 
structions, and in accordance with the promise of 
Christ the Spirit came. Then Peter, to whom had 
been given the keys of the kingdom, stood up and 
preached the first gospel sermon that was ever 
preached, and declared the terms on which citizen- 
ship in the kingdom might be enjoyed. Three thou- 
sand entered upon the new relationship according to 
the terms enjoined. 

Here we have the time of the beginning of Christ's 
kingdom, in exact accordance with the time demanded 
by the type. 

II. The nature and characteristics of the king- 
dom are also pointed out. 

1. The spiritual character of the new covenant 
was predicted, Jer. 31:31-34: "Behold, the days come, 
saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with 
the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, not 
according to the covenant that I made with their 



NATURE OF THE KINGDOM 99 

fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to 
bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my cov- 
enant they brake, although I was a husband unto 
them, saith the Lord. But this is the covenant that I 
will make with the house of Israel after those days, 
saith the Lord : I will put the law in their inward 
parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be 
their God and they shall be my people, and they shall 
teach no more every man his neighbor and every man 
his brother, saying. Know the Lord, for the}^ shall all 
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of 
them, saith the Lord ; for I will forgive their iniquity, 
and their sin I will remember no more." 

In this passage certain contrasts are brought out 
between the new and the old. First, the new law was 
to be put in the heart, the old was written on stone. 
It was a system of outward restraints, the new was 
an inward law controlling man by inward principles. 
Second, in the old, men had to be taught after they 
came into covenant relation, since they did not have 
to be taught in order to enter, being in covenant rela- 
tion by virtue of birth. In the new, men had to be 
taught as a necessary condition of entrance. Third, 
in the old covenant sins were never actually forgiven ; 
they were rolled forward from year to year until the 
efficacious sacrifice should be made. In the new, 
sins would be actually pardoned — ''their sins and their 
iniquities I Avill remember no more." In Hebrews, 
chapters 8 to 10, the foregoing passage is referred to 
and the following conclusions reached : First, that 
Christ was the Mediator of a better covenant. Second, 
that the first had grown old and vanished, to make 
room for the second. Third, that Jesus became the 
Mediator of the New Testament or covenant which 



100 THE KING OF KINGS 

came in force after his death. Fourth, that the law 
of the Mosaic dispensation was the shadow and that 
the Christian institution is the substance. Fifth, that 
Jesus came to take away the old and establish the 
new. Sixth, that through Christ a new and living 
way is opened up. 

The fulfillment of all these implied contrasts are 
strikingly exact, so much so as to preclude the pos- 
sibility of doubt in any candid mind. 

2. The universality of the kingdom was pro- 
phetically announced. In Psalm 72 the reign of the 
righteous Messianic King is most beautifully set 
forth; verse 8: *'He shall have dominion also from 
sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the 
earth." This is a beautiful poetic way of announcing 
the universality of the kingdom. In the same poetic 
vein, verse 16, he continues : ''There shall be abun- 
dance of grain in the earth upon the top of the moun- 
tains ; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and 
they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth." 
This points to the wonderful growth of the kingdom. 
The prophet doubtless had the rich, abundant harvest- 
fields on the slopes of Lebanon in his mind's eye 
when he wrote and used this figure to express the 
abundant harvests which would spring from the seed 
of the kingdom. The Psalm concludes with these 
inspiring words : "And blessed be his glorious name 
forever, and let the whole earth be filled with his 
glory." The prophet Zechariah uses the same phrase, 
employed in the passage above, in referring to the 
Messianic King: Zech. 9:10, "And he shall speak 
peace unto the nations, and his dominion shall be 
from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of 
the earth." In Heb. 2 : 14, the universal extent of 



THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE KINGDOM 101 

the kingdom is declared in these emphatic words : 
"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of 
the glory of Jehovah as the waters* cover the sea." 
Isaiah speaks with no uncertain sound on this point : 
Isa. 2:2-4, "And it shall come to pass in the latter 
days that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be 
established on the top of the mountains, and shall be 
exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto 
it. And many peoples shall go and say, Come and 
let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house 
of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, 
and we will walk in his paths, for out of Zion shall 
go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jeru- 
salem. And he will judge between the nations, and 
will decide concerning many peoples, And they shall 
beat their swords into plowshares and their spears 
into pruning-hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
more." This passage was used to show that the place 
of the setting up of the kingdom was prophetically 
announced. It also foretells the universality of the 
kingdom and the universal peace that will eventually 
be brought about under the Messianic reign. It has 
been reserved for us to see the hopeful signs of this 
universal peace. People in middle life will doubtless 
see this great end accomplished which was foretold 
by Isaiah nearly three thousand years ago. The 
Psalms abound in prophecies concerning the universal 
reign of the Prince of peace: "All nations shall serve 
him," "All nations shall call him blessed," "Thou shalt 
inherit all nations," "All nations shall worship before 
thee." Many ether equally pointed prophecies might 
be cited, but no more are needed to make the point 
clear. How beautifully harmonious with all this is 



102 THE KING OF KINGS 

the commission of our Lord : ''Go teach all nations." 
"Go preach the gospel to the whole creation." "Thus 
it behooved Christ to suffer that repentance and re- 
mission of sins might be preached among all nations 
beginning at Jerusalem." Paul's commission received 
from Christ sent him to the people and the Gentiles, 
"to turn them from darkness to light and from the 
power of Satan unto God." And hence as he de- 
clared, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for 
it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that 
believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." In 
conclusion on this point, I call attention to the truth 
that the gospel of Jesus Christ has universal adapta- 
bility, as is shown by the fact that to-day it is being 
preached among all nations, and wherever it is 
preached the universal heart of humanity responds to 
its appeal. 

3. The conquering power of the King is also a 
subject of prophecy. This is implied in some of the 
prophecies already cited. Isaiah said, "He shall not 
fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in 
the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law." In 
the prophetic Psalm referred to, the declaration is made 
that he shall have universal dominion. Notice these 
statements well. The language is declarative, not 
hypothetical. This implies that no power shall or 
can prevent it. No opposing force can hinder it. The 
whole spirit of prophecy is in this vein of confidence. 
There never is any doubt expressed. God is regarded 
as behind this movement, and consequently no power 
is able to measure arms with him. Jesus spoke of the 
kingdom in the same way, "On this rock I will build 
my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail 
against it." This primarily means against the rock, 



THE CONQUERING POWER OF THE KING 103 

but since the church is built on the rock it carries 
with it the idea of the stabihty and abiding character 
of the church. The word ''power" is one of the prom- 
inent words of both Old and New Testaments. It is 
used with great frequency with reference to the King 
and his kingdom. Jesus before giving his commis- 
sion said, "All authority hath been given unto me in 
heaven and on earth," and it is said of him that he 
will come again "with power and great glory." In 
short, the aspect of power pertaining to Christ and 
his kingdom is one of the most striking features of 
revelation. 

That these prophecies are well founded we have 
much to-day to show. The kingdom seems to be grad- 
ually overcoming all opposing forces. The enemies of 
Christ have never been able to gain a permanent vic- 
tory. Every century from the beginning shows sub- 
stantial increase. Once a Roman emperor erected a 
pillar upon the border of his empire, and engraved 
upon it, "Because Christianity has been destroyed." 
Vain, foolish man, his kingdom has long since been 
shattered to pieces by time's destructive forces, but 
the kingdom he thought he had destroyed still sur- 
vives and moves onward in ever-increasing measures 
of power and glory as the ages advance. Even in its 
youth it was powerful enough to rise above the most 
cruel, bitter persecutions ever waged by the powers 
of darkness, and in the face of it all it captured the 
throne of the Caesars, and to-day there are many indi- 
cations that Christ will soon wield the scepter over a 
redeemed and regenerated world. The universal reign 
of Christ never seemed so near or so certain as at the 
present time. The victor's shout will soon be heard, 
"Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." 



104 THE KING OF KINGS 

4. The eternity of the kingdom is also prophet- 
ically declared ; in Psa. 45 : 6, we read, "Thy throne, 
O God, is for ever and ever. A scepter of equity is 
the scepter of thy kingdom." The writer of Hebrews 
quotes this passage and applies it to the throne of 
the Son of God. In Rev. 11: 15 we read: ''The king- 
dom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord 
and his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever." 
Paul, in writing to Timothy, says, 2 Tim. 2 : 12 : 'Tf 
we endure we shall also reign with him." And in Rev. 
22:5, we read, ''For the Lord God shall give them 
light, and they shall reign with him for ever and ever," 
thus corroborating the prophetic declarations of Paul. 
In writing to the Corinthians, 1 Cor. 15:25, 28, Paul 
says: "For he must reign till he hath put all enemies 
under his feet. . . . And when all things have been 
subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself 
be subject to him that did subject all things unto him, 
that God may be all in all." Other prophetic ref- 
erences in both Old and New Testaments might be 
cited pointing to the eternity of the kingdom, but 
this is sufficient. The kingdom of Christ was set up 
on the first Pentecost after Christ's resurrection, im- 
mediately after he had ascended and had taken his 
seat on the throne, and it continues down to the pres- 
ent time with ever-increasing dominion and power, 
and it is prophetically announced that it will continue 
till all opposing power is put down when Christ will 
deliver up the rule to God, who will exercise dominion 
over his redeemed children and over the unfallen 
spirits that have never forfeited their first estate. This 
is the inspiring prophetic goal toward which the race- 
is moving with unerring footsteps. In short, the 
whole trend of history points to the fulfillment of the 
prophecy. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Christianity a Supernatural System: The 
Nature and Purpose of Miracle. 

1. Christianity is a supernatural system, or it is a 
fraud. By the word "supernatural" we mean super- 
human. As a system it claims for itself a divine origin 
as contradistinguished from all philosophical systems 
that have originated or can originate with man, or 
that are or can be the product of the uninspired human 
mind. There is no claim that is more emphatically or 
persistently made by Christianity than this, and if it 
fails to sustain this contention, it must be regarded 
as a fraud of the most glaring and inexcusable char- 
acter and consequently as undeserving of the consid- 
eration of honest, thoughtful men. 

It is useless to talk of throwing miracles over- 
board and still holding on to Christianity. As a 
system it is founded on miracle. If its miracles are 
genuine, its claim is fully substantiated; if false, its 
claim is utterly discredited and its foundations are 
swept away. 

The essential features of Christianity are based on 
at least three stupendous miracles — the incarnation, 
the resurrection and the ascension. Paul said, ''If 
Christ be not risen, your faith is in vain." If these 
three miracles be accepted, there should be no diffi- 
culty in accepting all the rest of the miracles recorded, 

on the principle that the greater necessarilv includes 

105 



106 THE KING OF KINGS 

the less. The day that witnesses the overthrow of 
miracles will be the day on which Christianity will be 
wounded to the death, but that day, it is safe to say, 
will never come. The assaults have been many, but 
all have been successfully repulsed. On this point the 
battle has been fought and the victory has been won. 

2. The rejection of miracles leads to hopeless per- 
plexity of mind. If the miracles recorded in the Bible 
are historically untrue, then the book that is the parent 
of the highest forms of civilization the world has ever 
seen is a tissue of falsehoods from beginning to end, 
which is a proposition no reasonable man can accept. 
The man who rejects miracles must believe that a 
religion that has evoked the loftiest morals and the 
divinest piety and the most generous philanthropy 
that the world has ever seen rests on error or lies. 

Before approaching the miracles of Christ let us 
try to get as clear an understanding as possible of the 
nature and character of miracles in general and their 
relation to the system of material nature. 

I. Numerous definitions of miracles have been 
given, but the names used to designate the various 
classes of miracles serve in a measure to define the 
term."^ 

1. Four words are used in the New Testament to 
designate supernatural occurrences. 

(1) The word "dunameis" is used, which sig- 
nifies ''powers" and evidently has reference to the 
agency by which miracles were wrought. The power 
dwells for the time being in the divine messenger, but 
is derived primarily from the Divine Person. Powers 
are the separate puttings forth of the divine power. 



* See Hoppin's "Pastoral Theology" for fuller discussion. 



WORDS DESIGNATING MIRACLES 107 

either by the Deity or by persons especially endowed 
by the Divine Being for a special purpose. Some- 
times this word is translated ''wonderful" or "mighty 
works." 

(2) "Terata" is another word, which denotes 
"marvels" or "wonders." This term has reference to the 
wonder produced in the beholder. Here the ethical 
meaning of miracle is lost sight of, and it is a sig- 
nificant fact that this word is never applied to mir- 
acles except in connection with some other name, as, 
for instance, "signs and wonders." While miracles 
necessarily produced wonder in the beholder, they 
were never wrought primarily for that purpose. Christ 
never performed miracles to gratify idle curiosity or 
to astonish the beholder. 

(3) ''Semeiaf' is also used, which denotes "signs. '^ 
This term has reference to the significance of the 
miracle. The ethical purpose is here brought to view. 
The near presence of God is indicated. They are the 
signs or seals of the superhuman power residing in 
the person who accomplished them : they are given to 
demonstrate the divine character of the person who 
works them, or of the work or office in favor of which 
they are wrought. 

Not all signs are miracles. God has often given 
signs in no sense miraculous to designate that which 
he said would come true. A few illustrations will 
make this plahi. The angels gave to the shepherds, 
for a sign, the finding of the infant Redeemer wrapped 
in swaddling clothes. To Eli was given the death of 
his two sons, as a sign that God's threatenings would 
come true. Sometimes men have appointed the oc- 
currence of events in one way or another as signs 
that God's hand was leading them. Gen. 24: 14 is a 



108 THE KING OF KINGS 

case in point, "And let it come to pass, that the 
damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I 
pray thee, that I may drink, and she shall say, Drink, 
and I will give thy camels drink also : let the same 
be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac ; 
and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kind- 
ness unto my master." We have another case in 
Judg. 6:36, Z7, "And Gideon said unto God, If thou 
wilt save Israel by mine hands, as thou hast spoken, 
behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing- 
floor: if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry 
upon the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt 
save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast spoken." 1 
Sam. 14:8-11 ip another instance. In these cases the 
signs were natural events, the miraculous element 
consisting in the prediction as in the first two cases, 
and in the divine response to the request in the other 
cases cited. As examples of miraculous signs we may 
refer to the works that God empowered Moses to 
perform in attestation of his mission. 

(4) Finally, "Erga," "works," is a term used by 
Jesus himself in reference to his miracles. This seems 
to imply that those things which to men were won- 
derful, were to him his natural work. If Jesus were 
"God manifest in the flesh," the wonder all ceases. 
The less is contained in the greater. The miracle of 
incarnation is the sum total of all miracles. The 
things which men call miraculous are simply works, 
natural legitimate works, for the God-man. Miracles 
are involved in the idea of God. 

2. Some definitions have been given which may 
assist us to a better understanding of the subject. 
For example : 

(1) "A miracle is an extraordinary act preceding 



DEFINITIONS OF MIRACLES 109 

immediately and directly from the will of God." — 
Rev. W . Anderson. 

(2) "A miracle is an unusual divine action. Nat- 
tiral law is habitual divine action. In a world con- 
taining creatures that are reall}^ free, both kinds of 
actions are essential." — The Mysteries of Nature. 

(3) "Nature is afflicted with a fatal malady, and 
miracles are a part of the restorative means, elixirs 
in the healing prescriptions of the great Physician." — 
The Mysteries of Nature. 

(4) A miracle has also been defined as "the 
operation of a higher law," but enough has been said 
to show that a miracle must be regarded as a work 
wrought by a superhuman power, either directly or 
indirectly put forth. 

II. The relation of miracles to the natural world 
in which we live and move is a matter worthy of our 
attention in passing. 

1. First then be it observed that miracle is not 
specially distinguished by being wonderful. The nat- 
ural, when viewed aright, is just as wonderful as the 
miraculous. The grass growing beneath our feet is a 
wonderful phenomenon. Because it is common we 
forget its wonderful character. Who has been able 
to explain it? Who has succeeded in discovering the 
hidden mystery of the operation here going on? The 
seed sprouting is just as wonderful as the bread 
that was multiplied in the Saviour's hands. The bring- 
ing of men into existence is just as wonderful as to 
raise them from the dead. In reality, no greater power 
is needed in the one case than in the other. Evidently 
then the wonder does not constitute the miracle, since 
the wonder is just as great in what we call the natural. 

2. Second, miracle is not a greater manifestation 

(0) 



110 THE KING OF KINGS 

of God's power than is seen in his work in nature all 
around us. Power, superhuman and incomprehensible, 
is being exerted in all natural processes. The farmer 
in order to produce a crop must enter into partner- 
ship with a superhuman power that does things he 
can not do. We lose sight of this fact because of 
our familiarity with these potent forces that we call 
natural. The r.atural therefore, when rightly viewed, 
is just as wonderful as the supernatural. Miracle is a 
different manifestation of divine power not necessarily 
greater or more wonderful. 

3. Through natural phenomena God is speaking 
at all times to all men. These stand in no nearer 
relation to one man than to another. In miracle God 
speaks in special ways at special times to particular 
men for special and extraordinary purposes. Miracle 
is an extraordinary divine activity put forth as a 
creative act or in attestation of some extraordinary 
claim. 

4. So far as we now see or know, the natural must 
begin in the supernatural or miraculous. We can see 
how the present order is maintained through the 
operation of what we term ''natural laws," although 
we know nothing of the real nature of these laws. 
These natural laws do not, however, account for the 
origin of anything. No matter how far backward we 
may trace natural processes we finally come to a 
beginning, and that beginning demands miracle, or at 
least can only be accounted for on the supposition of 
supernatural power. Trees grow from acorns. Now, 
no matter whether the process began with an acorn 
or with a tree, the beginning calls for a miracle so far 
as we are able to see. 

5. It is furthermore worthy of remark that while 



RELATION OF MIRACLES TO NATURAL WORLD 111 

the natural and miraculous are distinct in a large and 
important sense, it is yet true that the natural may 
become miraculous. Many unconnected causes may 
converge to a single end in such a way as to indicate 
clearly the presence of divine superintending power. 
The results may all be capable of explanation from 
known causes, yet when many unconnected causes 
conspire together to produce a certain result, this 
often comes to have the quality of miracle. The 
plagues of Eg3'pt serve as an illustration. Swarms 
of flies and locusts and destruction of cattle by mur- 
rain were natural occurrences, but the peculiar in- 
tensity and the dread succession in which they came, 
following as they did the word of Moses and all tend- 
ing to produce a certain result, entitle them to the 
name miraculous. 

6. It thus appears that although the miraculous 
is distinct from the natural, and readily distinguish- 
able from it, it is not against nature. It is probably 
not correct to speak of a miracle as a violation of 
natural law. The miracle is beyond or above nature 
as we know it, but not necessarily contrary to it. 
Often higher law comes in to modify or change the 
operation of the lower, but not to destroy it. It is nat- 
ural for dead animal matter to decay, yet this natural 
action may be arrested or hindered in a given case by 
means of salt.' What right have we to say, because 
certain things are not brought about by causes that we 
know and understand that therefore they can not be 
accomplished at all? Such a claim assumes that man 
in his natural unaided wisdom has knowledge of all 
forces and powers in the universe, which ought to be 
a claim too large for a modest man to make. 

To deny the possibility of the miraculous is to 



112 THE KING OF KINGS 

deny the possibility of the higher spiritual universe. 
The movements of the higher v^orld are always mir- 
acles to the lower world. If a plant could think, a 
horse in its movements might appear to be a miracle. 
If one of the lower animals had the power of reflec- 
tion, a man might appear to be a miracle. Plants are 
miracles to the stone, the horse to the plant, man to 
the horse, and God to man. If a man can do things 
that are miracles to the horse, ought he to deny that 
God can do things that are miracles to him? Is not 
the denial of miracles virtually a denial of God? 

This leads us to consider: 

III. The possibility and probability of miracle. 

1. If miracle can not take place, then revelation 
from God, either direct or through a divinely inspired 
medium, is impossible, for revelation itself is a mir- 
acle. If God exists, he can speak and we naturally 
expect him to speak. If God has not spoken, it must 
be because he can not or will not speak. To deny to 
him the power makes him inferior to the being he 
has created. To say that God will not speak im- 
peaches his goodness. No reasonable man will take 
either proposition. There is only one alternative re- 
maining, and that is that God can and will speak. 
A revelation therefore meets the logical demand in 
the case. 

2. But the denial of miracle involves the denial of 
revelation, and this involves a denial of the existence 
of God. 

Now if God exists, he is the author of nature and 
its laws, and manifestly he can suspend his own laws 
if he choose or he can call into play higher laws of 
which we as finite beings may not know. Neither 
does it follow that he is always and under all circum- 



MIRACLES NOT REPUGNANT TO EXPERIENCE 113 

stances compelled to follow the same process in what 
he does. He may have an ordinary way of working 
that we call natural, and yet he may now and then 
resort to the extraordinary, which may, with him, be 
just as natural as the ordinary. In fact, we would 
expect this, and consequently we may argue for mir- 
acles from a priori considerations. 

Further be it observed that: 

3. Miracles can not properly be said to be repug- 
nant to experience as some have claimed. Several 
different and antagonistic aspects of the same fact 
may be repugnant, but unconnected and unrelated 
facts, no matter how different, are not repugnant to 
each other. I have never experienced an earthquake, 
yet the man who asserts that he has experienced one 
in a different country does not contradict my experi- 
ence. I have never seen a dead man restored to life, 
yet such an event does not contradict my experience. 
It is simply an example of a different class of events 
from any I have ever witnessed. I have never seen 
an angel, such as Abraham and Lot and Mary and 
many others are reported in Holy Writ to have seen, 
yet I have no ground for denying the truth of these 
statements because the phenomena reported have not 
come within the range of my experience. I simply 
say here are experiences different from any that I 
have ever met, but I am not justified in denying their 
truth on that account. Nothing ought to be re- 
pugnant to experience that does not involve contra- 
dictory relations of the same facts or phenomena. 
If, for instance, some man should declare he saw a 
dead body restored to life at the same moment I saw 
it interred, I would say, his assertion is repugnant to 
my experience, because it involves contradictory 



114 THE KING OF KINGS 

aspects of the same phenomenon, but when no such 
contradiction is involved there is and can be no such 
repugnance as it affirmed. 

4. Really the denial of miracle is a denial that 
there is anything higher than the natural world. 

Let us lift the discussion to a higher plane and 
admit the possibility of a spiritual kingdom that is 
above the natural and miracle at once becomes prob- 
able. Shall the higher spiritual kingdom be denied 
activities other than those permitted in the lower 
realm to which we belong? To say yes, is to deny the 
possibility of a higher kingdom. If there are spiritual 
beings greater than men, why may we not expect 
works greater than the natural man can perform? 

In conclusion on this point let us keep in mind the 
fact that miracle is the only explanation that we have 
so far been able to find for the existing order of things, 
and until the universe as we know it can be accounted 
for without miracle let us not deny its possibility, but 
rather recognize its probability. 



CHAPTER X. 

The Argument Based on Christ's Miracles: 
Their Unique Character and Purpose.* 

Since, so far as we know, all divine undertakings 
begin in miracle, a presumption is at once raised in 
favor of miracle in the inauguration of the kingdom 
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Miracle stands 
at the beginning of the material universe, at the be- 
ginning of the human race, at the beginning of the 
Mosaic dispensation, why not at the beginning of the 
Christian dispensation? Moses was a type of Christ 
in his great work of leading the children of Israel out 
of bondage, establishing the nation and giving it God's 
law. For the accomplishment of this work God con- 
ferred upon him miracle-working power, which he 
exercised freely. Numerous and . notable miracles 
Vv^cre wrought by him as signs of his divine commis- 
sion as deliverer and leader of his people. This not 
only creates an expectation as to the workings of 
miracles on the part of Christ, but really demands 
that he, as the great antitype of Moses, shall exercise 
miracle-working power in attestation of his divine 
mission. We are not surprised, then, that his 
biographers freely testify concerning miracles wrought 



* See Trench on "The Miracles of Our Lord," also McTlvane's 
"Evidences of Christianity," and Farrar's "Witness of History 
to Christ." 

115 



116 THE KING OF KINGS 

by him. On the contrary, if no miracles had been 
wrought by him a presumption against the validity of 
his claims would have been raised by this fact. Hence, 
John, in summing the matter up, says : ''Many other 
signs, therefore, did Jesus in the presence of his dis- 
ciples, which are^ not written in this book. But these 
are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the 
Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may 
have life in his name," and in the close of his book 
he says : "And there are also many other things which 
Jesus did, the which if they would be written every 
one, I suppose that even the world itself would 
not contain the books that should be written." 

I once heard a professed Christian teacher of 
considerable note in one of the great universities say 
to his class, in substance, that miracles probably had 
some value in the early days of the church, but that 
they have little evidential value now^ and in fact 
it would be better if we had no record of them. The 
more I reflect upon such utterances, the more I am 
convinced that those who make them are at bottom 
skeptical as to miracle, and probably disbelievers in 
the divinity of our Lord. In opposition to such doc- 
trine I wish to go on record as declaring it to be my 
earnest conviction that miracles have the same value 
to us that they had in the beginning, and that we 
can not throw them away except at immense loss. I 
regard all attempts to discredit or belittle miracles as 
attacks upon the very foundations of Christian faith, 
and, therefore, to be resisted by all who believe in the 
divinity of the Christian system. The cry that ''mir- 
acles must go" is a slogan of the enemy. 

I hold it to be important to study: 

I. The distinctive features of Christ's miracles 



CONTRAST SHOWN IN CHRIST'S MIRACLES 117 

and especially as they are contrasted with other mir- 
acles recorded in the Bible. 

1. The points of contrast between Christ's mir- 
acles and those of the Old Testament are clear and 
striking. 

(1) The nuracle workers of the Old Testament 
accomplished their work in many cases, at least appar- 
ently, at the expense of great effort. Moses had to 
plead earnestly, before his sister was healed of lep- 
rosy. Elijah had to pray long, and his servant went 
to look seven times, before the rain appeared. He 
stretched himself thrice on a child before its life came 
back. Elisha had to put forth even more effort in 
restoring the Shunammite's son. Christ always per- 
formed his miracles with the most perfect ease. He 
healed the leper by his touch. He healed ten lepers 
when at a distance. He raised the dead by a word. 
He stilled the tempest without effort. He apparently 
put forth no exertion in accomplishing the wonder- 
ful works recorded. He seemed always to possess 
superabundant power. There is never any hesitancy 
shown or indication of any lack of ability. This fact 
is suggestive of his omnipotence. 

(2) Christ's miracles are apparently freer and 
larger. Elisha fed a hundred men with twenty loaves. 
Christ fed five thousand with five loaves. There is a 
largeness in Christ's miracles that points to his un- 
wasting fullness. This points to his Deity. 

(3) Others have some instrument, or symbol of 
power. Christ had none. Moses used a rod. Elijah 
his mantle. Elisha sweetened a spring with a dish of 
salt. Christ simply spoke and the work was done. 
True, in one instance, he used clay, but he performed 
other miracles of the same kind by his word, thus 



118 THE KING OF KINGS 

showing this use of clay was of choice and not of 
necessity. The power was inherent and no artificial 
contrivance was needed to call it forth or assist him 
in its application to the work at hand. 

(4) There is also a marked difference in char- 
acter between the miracles of Christ and those of the 
Old Testament. Often the latter wore a stern, severe 
aspect. They were miracles of law. They were some- 
times manifestations of God's anger against sin. Illus- 
trations are seen in the plagues of Egypt, in the leprosy 
inflicted, in a sound hand withered. Many other ex- 
amples might be cited. All of Christ's miracles were 
characterized by grace and mercy. They are always 
wrought to heal. The cursing of the fig-tree is not an 
exception. Its purpose is benevolent. A great lesson 
is taught as to what the doom of fruitlessness is, and 
no pain was inflicted. By this it is not meant that the 
miracles of the Old Testament were lacking in the 
quality of mercy. Sometimes severe punishment is the 
most merciful thing that can be done for the individuaL 
The kind parent that chastises his child shows no 
lack of mercy thereby. Attention is simply called t.> 
the fact that the Old Testament miracles wore a 
sterner aspect than those of Christ. 

2. Christ's miracles always exalted him as the 
worker. The power went out immediately from him. 
He was the source. When the apostles worked mir- 
acles they did it in Christ's name. Their power wa^ 
not inherent, but conferred. Christ wrought miracles 
in his own name and by his own inherent power. 

All this harmonizes perfectly with the doctrine of 
the essential divinity of Christ ; with the idea that he 
was God manifest in the flesh ; with John's teaching 



MIRACLES IDENTIFY CHRIST WITH GOD 119 

that he was the Word, that the Word was God and 
that the Word was made flesh. 

3. Christ's miracles are distinguished from all 
false or pretended miracles : First, by their public 
character. They were never wrought in the dark. 
There is never any suspicion of deception. The freest 
investigation seems to be invited. In the second place, 
they were never frivolous or lacking in a great pur- 
pose. The apocryphal miracles are silly and frivolous 
in the extreme. In their nature and character they 
seem to belittle the Deity in whose name they pro- 
fess to have been wrought. Horace's maxim is a good 
one, "Never let a god intervene unless a difficulty 
worthy of a god is present." 

II. The miracles of Christ identify him with the 
God of nature.* 

He shows himself possessed of the same powers 
that we necessarily ascribe to God. Let any one make 
up a list of the powers that he thinks ought to belong 
to God and a study of Christ's miracles will show that 
he possessed those powers in full measure. 

1. He displayed God's power in the mineral king- 
dom. That is, he could transform the inorganic into 
the organic without the agency of the life principle. 
Take for example the turning of water into wine, John 
2:7-11. The vegetable transforms the mineral into 
the vegetable. The vine turns water into wme. 
Christ could accomplish the same result directly and 
immediately. This is just what we would expect 
of God. 

2. We would expect that God can control th'2 
forces of the material world. Christ had this power, as 

* For the line of thought here presented I acknowledge my 
indebtedness to the late Prof. Bruner, of Eureka College. 



120 THE KING OF KINGS 

is shown by his stilling the tempest, Luke 8:22-25. 
Inanimate nature was directly obedient to him as wc 
would expect it to be obedient to its creator. 

Christ's power over inanimate nature is also shown 
in the temptation, Matt. 4: 1-11. 

Satan asked him to use his power over inanimate 
nature in two of the temptations ; in turning stones into 
bread and casting himself down from the pinnacle of 
the temple. Christ, it is true, refuses, but the force of 
the temptation lay in the fact that he possessed the 
power that Satan asked him to use. Otherwise there 
would have been no temptation. 

3. We would expect God to be superior to the 
laws of his material world. He who made the force of 
gravity ought to be able to control it. Christ had this 
power, as is shown by his walking on the water, John 
6:16-21. In this miracle the fact appears that he 
could suspend the action of gravity. The lower law 
is displaced for the time by a higher. 

4. We would expect God to be able to control 
immediately and directly vegetable life. Surely God 
can take away the life that he bestows. Christ dis- 
played God's power in the vegetable kingdom. Note 
the cursing of the fig-tree. Matt. 21 : 18-20. A tree 
may be withered by natural forces : Christ shows that 
he could produce the same result directly and without 
the aid of natural laws. This is the only miracle of 
destruction that Christ ever wrought, but this is an 
act of mercy when we take into account its ethical 
purpose. We thus see that Christ can create and 
destroy the vegetable product without the aid of 
natural laws and forces. 

5. We would expect God to control the lower 
order of animals directly and . immediately. Christ 



CHRIST DISPLAYS POWER OF GOD 121 

displays God's power in the animal kingdom. The 
two miraculous draughts of fishes are examples, Luke 
5 : 1-11 ; John 21 : 6-14. In these cases he shows that he 
exercises immediate power over the animals in the sea 
and has knowledge of their movements. The finding 
of a piece of money in the mouth of the fish is another 
example, Matt. 17:27. If the miracle previously men- 
tioned shows his power over the fish of the sea, this 
shows his knowledge of everything connected with 
them. If one swallowed a piece of money, he knew it, 
or could know it. 

The directing of the disciples to the colt whereon 
never man sat, Luke 19:29-48, shows his intimate 
knowledge of the animal world. 

6. He displays power expected of God over dead 
animal and vegetable matter, as shown by the feeding 
of the five thousand. Matt. 14: 13-21, and the feeding 
of the four thousand. Matt. 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-9. 
There is no power in nature that will multiply dead 
animal matter. If we have living seed, nature will 
multiply it with her own processes, but Christ could do 
it without the aid of natural laws. 

7. He displays the power expected of God over 
the malignant forces producing disease. The heaUng 
of the nobleman's son, John 4:46-51; the curing of 
fever, as in the case of Simon's wife's mother, Matt. 
8: 14-17; the healing of the woman with the issue of 
blood. Matt. 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-58; 
the curing of the paralytic. Matt. 9: 1-8; Mark 2: 1-12; 
Luke 5:17-26; the cleansing of lepers. Matt. 8:1-4; 
Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16; Luke 17:11-19— all 
these are instances in point. In some cases he cured 
by his touch, in others he cured when at a distance. 
Many other cases of heahng are mentioned : The 



122 THE KING OF KINGS 

curing of the centurion's servant of palsy, Matt. 8 : 5- 
13; Luke 7: 1-10; the healing of the impotent man at 
Bethesda, John 5:1-16; the opening the eyes of per- 
sons born blind, John 9:1-15, Mark 8:22-29, Matt. 
20:29-34; the restoring the withered hand, Matt. 
12 : 10-13, Mark 3 : 1-5, Luke 6 : 6-21 ; the healing of the 
man of dropsy, Luke 14: 1-6; the curing of the deaf 
and dumb, Mark 7: 31-37; the healing of lunacy. Matt. 
17: 14-21, Mark 9 : 14-29, Luke 9: 37-42. These cases 
are of such variety as shows Him to have been no 
specialist, but rather the universal healer. We have 
confidence in the specialist because the limitations of 
human knowledge are such that no man can spread 
himself over a large field successfully, but no such limi- 
tations exist in the case of God. His power to heal 
must be unlimited. Christ demonstrated that he pos- 
sessed this unlimited power. 

8. He displayed the power of God in raising the 
dead. His voice could pierce the "dull cold ear of 
death." Departed spirits were obedient to his com- 
mand. The raising of Jairus' daughter. Matt. 9: 18-26, 
Aiark 5:22-43, Luke 8:41-56; the raising of the 
widow's son, Luke 7:12-16, and the raising of Laz- 
arus, John 11:1-47, are examples of the exercise of 
this power. 

9. He displays the power we would expect of 
God in the authority he exercised over evil spirits. 
This is shown in the casting out of demons in the 
country of the Gadarenes, Matt. 8: 28-34, Mark 5 : 1-20, 
Luke 8 : 26-39 ; in the healing of the demoniac in the 
synagogue at Capernaum, Mark 1 : 23-27, Luke 4 : 33-36 : 
and in the healing of the daughter of the Syrophenician 
woman, Matt. 15 : 21-28, Mark 7: 24-30. He thus shows 
that he was Lord over wicked spirits. 



CHRIST DISPLAYS POWER OF GOD 123 

10. We would expect God to read the thoughts 
of the human mind. The scriptures ascribe this power 
to God and human reason says it must be so. God 
can surely penetrate into the secret recesses of the 
soul of man. Surely the soul can hide nothing from 
the eye of its Creator. 

But if Christ is God manifest in the flesh then 
he must be able to look into the recesses of the heart 
of man and know what is there. Did he have this 
power? The record shows that he possessed the 
power that the logic of the case demands. He knew 
the character of Nathaniel even before he had seen 
him. He knew it was in the heart of Judas to betray 
him before the act was done. He knew it was in the 
heart of Peter to deny him, thus showing that he 
knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. On one 
occasion certain scribes said within themselves, ''This 
man blasphemeth." And Jesus knowing their thoughts 
said, 'Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?" They 
had made no open charge, but Jesus knew what was 
in their minds. Thus we see that here again Christ 
meets the test of Deity. 

11. There remains but one more test to thor- 
oughly identify Christ with God. We doubtless must 
say that if God is omnipotent he has power to lay 
down his life and take it again. True, we may not be 
able to conceive of an emergency when he would do 
it, but certainly we will not deny to him the power. 
The scriptures, hoAvever, reveal just such an emer- 
gency. When God clothed himself in flesh and dwelt 
among us, it became necessary in the accomplishment 
of his wondrous plan of redemption to lay down his 
life and take it again. In other words, Jesus who was 
Immanuel — God with us — declared, 'T have power to 



124 THE KING OF KINGS 

lay down my life and I have power to take it again." 
He also said "No man takes my life from me." There- 
fore Jesus permitted his enemies to take away his life 
and he was laid in Joseph's tomb, but at the appointed 
time he took up his life that he had laid down, and 
came forth from the grave, thus meeting this supreme 
test of Deity. Jesus is the only one that ever unlocked 
the tomb from the inner side. Others had come 
forth, but the tomb had been opened by the power 
of God from the outside, but Jesus could come forth 
by his own inherent power, thus demonstrating his 
divinity. Hence he is declared to be the Son of God, 
with power by the resurrection from the dead." 

Thus it is seen that Christ had the creating power, 
the controlling power, the restoring power, the mind- 
reading power, and the power over his own life that 
we expect, nay, shall I not say demand, that God 
shall have. Can you think of any other power ex- 
pected of God that he did not possess? Perhaps some 
one may say all this with one or two exceptions Is 
in the material realm. To this I reply that the ma- 
terial world is largely the theater of miraculous 
agency. Here is its chief field of operation. The 
laws of the intellectual world are such that the exer- 
cise of direct compulsory power in this realm is incon- 
sistent with its very nature. Freedom seems to be 
one of the God-given prerogatives of spirit. God made 
man in his own image, and this being true, man is 
free since God is free. While it is conceivable that 
God could destroy freedom or take it away in a given 
case, yet in doing so the essential nature of the being 
is destroyed, at least for the time. As might therefore 
be expected, God seems to be very slow to exercise 
his power in a way to interfere with the freedom of 



CHRIST'S MIRACLES FORM ASCENDING SERIES 125 

his intelligent creature. He respects the nature he 
has conferred in his dealings with man. 

Christ, on one occasion, said to his disciples, after 
referring to his miraculous works: "Greater 
works than these shall ye do." Do we not here get 
a suggestion of the meaning of this language? A 
work in the higher realm of mind is greater than a 
work in the lower realm of material nature by as 
much as mind is greater than matter. These disciples 
were to go out to influence the minds of men,, 
not by compulsion, but by presenting dominant prin- 
ciples and motives. They were to make the impure 
pure, the vicious virtuous, the ignorant wise, through 
the agency of the gospel he commissioned them to 
preach. This is greater than to control inanimate 
objects or irrational life, even though the latter might 
be done by the exercise of miraculous power. A mir- 
acle is great, but Christ has put into our hands a 
power than he considers greater, and the divine results 
accomplished demonstrate the correctness of his view. 

Christ's miracles form an ascending series. Be- 
ginning with the inanimate mineral kingdom, they 
demonstrate his complete power in that realm. 
Ascending into the vegetable, they show forth his 
power in this higher realm. Mounting upward into 
the animal kingdom, they show his power there to be 
supreme. They also demonstrate his power over all 
malignant forces, and passing into the unseen world 
they show him to be complete master of all evil .-pirits. 
He also shows that he knows the human mind, but 
respecting its God-given freedom he does not act 
upon it by arbitrary irresistible power, but in harmony 
with its nature and its divinely ordained laws. Last 
of all, he voluntarily enters the unseen v/orld, and 

(10) 



126 THE KING OF KINGS 

comes forth through the exercise of his omnipotent 
power, thus bringing life and immortaHty to light. 
What more can we ask in demonstration of his claim 
to divinity? Has not everything been done that can 
be done to establish the proposition that Jesus Christ 
is the Son of God? 

We can not, therefore, look on the miracles as per- 
formed at random and without purpose. Each miracle 
in fact has a double purpose ; one is to show forth some 
peculiar power of Christ which identifies him with 
God, the other related to the good of those upon 
whom it was wrought. It was thus calculated to 
awaken both faith and love. We are not only led 
to say, "Truly this is the Son of God," but we also 
lovingly exclaim, "Saviour, Friend, Elder Brother." 



CHAPTER XL 

The Argument Based on Christ's Central 
Place in History.* 

In the preparation for the universal spiritual king- 
dom, God's directing hand in the affairs of men mani- 
fests itself in two prominent lines of activity; namely, 
spiritual and secular. He has taken certain necessary 
steps of a religious character preparatory to the estab- 
lishment of a church or spiritual kingdom, and he has 
controlled nations in their secular history to that 
end. In short, God has moved along two lines in his 
preparation for the kingdom and in his development 
of the kingdom as well. 

1. Christ stands at the center to which the whole 
religious movement before his time converges. 

1. As to His central place in God's great scheme 
of redemption there can be no question. From the 
time of the first prophetic utterance that the seed of 
the woman should bruise the head of the serpent, 
which was made to our first parents in the Garden 
of Eden, thence onward to the close of the Old Testa- 
ment canon, there is one unbroken line of prophecies, 
verbal and pictorial, pointing to Christ and his king- 
dom. Not only do verbal prophecies abound, but 



* Phases of this argument are more elaborately presented in 
a chapter in the author's work entitled "The Great Salvation." 
A summary is presented here because it contributes to the com- 
pleteness of the argument for Christ's divinity. 

127 



128 THE KING OF KINGS 

there are typical nations, typical institutions and 
typical individuals vividly portraying Christ in his 
most important offices and his kingdom in its most 
prominent features. In short, the Old Testament dis- 
closes a line of fingerboards pointing to Christ and 
his kingdom as the object and end of the whole 
movement. 

2. But it should be observed that both positive 
and negative lines of preparation proceed side by 
side. In fact, there seems to be a dual process that 
makes for control in both the material and spiritual 
realms. The planets and their satellites are kept in 
their orbits by the operation of centripetal and cen- 
trifugal forces, and man is kept in his proper orbit 
by the operation of negative and positive law, not 
however when written as outside codes, but when 
written on the heart as inward governing principles. 
In harmony with this general law God's religious 
positive preparation for Christ was wrought out in 
the two divine dispensations — the patriarchal and 
Mosaic. The negative preparation was accomplished 
through the multitudinous, idolatrous systems that 
cursed the world, showing the utter failure of all 
human religions to meet man's spiritual needs and ele- 
vate the race. Here again we have an illustration of 
the truth that God can make the wrath of man to 
praise him. This negative religious preparation led 
to Christ by what we may term the process of exclu- 
sion, shutting man up to Christ as the only refuge. 

II. But not only is Christ the center of the world's 
religious movement before his day, but he is also the 
center of its secular movement. 

1. In the history of the antediluvian period, cul- 
minating in the flood in which a godless world was 



CHRIST THE CENTER OF HISTORY 129 

overwhelmed in destruction, the great lesson was 
taught that mankind without a revelation from God 
must sink into ever-increasing depths of degradation 
and corruption, which must culminate in destruction. 
Man's impotency must be demonstrated before he will 
take hold of the hand stretched out to help him.* 
This lesson has been repeated again and again in the 
history of godless nations. The preservation of Noah 
and his family, to whom God's message was vouch- 
safed, shows the saving power of righteousness and 
lifting power of revelation. Here we have the first 
great negative step in the preparation for Christ. 

2. The history of Egypt furnishes the second step 
in the preparation for the Redeemer. In the bondage 
inflicted on the Israelites, Egypt became a type of 
the kingdom of darkness, holding the world under the 
bondage of sin. Here is another example of the truth 
that God is able to make the wrath of man to praise 
him. Egypt invited Jacob and his family to take 
up their abode in the country, and she gave to them 
the goodly land of Goshen in which to live. Later, 
becoming alarmed at the rapid increase of the Is- 
raelites, she began to afflict them, and gradually made 
their burdens gi eater and greater, until they were 
subjected to a slavery of the most galling kind. In 
this we have a graphic picture of the course of sin. 
At first its allurements are pleasing. The bitter fruits 
are not apparent, but little by little sin fastens its 
chains upon its victim until he is, at last, held in the 
most dreadful bondage. 

The appearance of Moses upon the scene as the 
deliverer of his people furnishes a type for the great 
spiritual deliverer Jesus Christ, who becomes the Re- 

* See "Talks to Bereans," by Isaac Erretr. 



130 THE KING OF KINGS 

deemer of men from the bondage of sin, and their 
leader through the great wilderness journey of life 
to the passage of the Jordan of death into the ever- 
lasting rest. 

3. The great nations of the Euphrates valley also 
contributed their part to the general preparation for 
Christ. The Israelites, after their deliverance from 
bondage and occupancy of the promised land, showed 
continual tendency to lapse into idolatry. They must 
needs undergo severe discipline in order that rhe roots 
of idolatry may be eradicated and a standing-ground 
secured from which to proceed with the crusade 
against the universal idolatry that God proposes to 
overthrow. In order to effect the necessary discipline 
God used the Assyrian, Babylonian and Medo-Persian 
empires as his instruments of chastisement. The 
people were carried captive, by one deportation after 
another, until the country was devastated and prac- 
tically denuded of its Israelitish inhabitants, but God 
preserved a remnant who, cleansed of their idolatry 
and other weaknesses, returned to occupy the land 
and restore the commonwealth of Israel. Among the 
Israelites idolatry never more made its appearance, 
and hence a people was prepared for the commg spir- 
itual religion. To this end, the great nations of the 
Euphrates valley, under the hand of God, contributed 
their part in the preparation. 

But other lines of preparation were needed besides 
this largely negative work. God moves in harmony 
with man's intellectual and spiritual constitution. 
Man moves as he is moved upon through the powers 
and capacities with which God has endowed him. He 
must be enlightened and persuaded. Many lessons 
can only be learned by experience. This involves in a 



CHRIST THE CENTER OF HISTORY 131 

large degree the element of time, consequently the 
time factor enters largely into the evolution of great 
systems of truth, and therefore, it is said, Christ came 
in the fullness of time; that is, when the lines of 
necessary preparation had been carried forward until 
they met at the focal point, which was called the 
fullness of time. In addition, therefore, to the nega- 
tive preparation already alluded to, there must be 
spiritual, intellectual and political lines of preparation. 

4. The Hebrew nation accomplished the needed 
spiritual preparation. First of all, it stood as a great 
bulwark against idolatry. True, the nation, lime and 
again, apostatized, as we have shown, but gradually 
the lesson of one true and living God was learned, 
and thence onward it resisted all the encroachments 
of the surrounding idolatry. This was a necessary 
preparation. Christianity is the furthest remove 
from idolatry, and in order for its beginning there 
must be a people among which to plant it from whom 
the roots of idolatry have been eradicated. 

The Messianic idea was also developed by means 
of prophetic utterances, although greatly misunder- 
stood. This much, at least, had been accomplished. A 
general expectancy had been awakened throughout the 
nation of some great coming One. A Messiah was 
desired by the nation. True, they expected one to 
come far different in character and in purpose from 
the true Messiah, for which God was preparing them, 
but this general Messianic expectancy was a neces- 
sary preparation for Christ. 

Moreover, solid foundations for the claims of 
Christ had been laid in prophecies verbal and typical. 
A pictorial worship representing the Church of Christ 
in a most forceful manner had been developed and 



132 THE KING OF KINGS 

maintained, and verbal prophecies clear and pointed, 
and in great numbers, had been uttered. Finally, gen- 
ealogical tables had been preserved in the nation, by 
which the lineage of Christ could be traced back 
through David to Abraham. 

Furthermore, it should be noted that the chosen 
nation also accomplished a negative preparation i:i 
that they demonstrated the futility of both moral and 
ceremonial law as remedial systems. A higher moral 
law and a more beautiful ceremonial worship it is im- 
possible to conceive of than the moral and ceremonial 
law of Israel. 

Last of all, as a factor in the spiritual preparation, 
Israel had served a great missionary purpose. While 
it did not send out missionaries, its location was such 
as to bring it into occasional contact with surround- 
ing nations. The East and the West, the North and 
the South, in their various wars, and in their commer- 
cial relations, necessarily had to pass through the 
Holy Land, and would incidentally pick up many of 
the peculiar ideas of this nation, and their ideas would 
also be more or less impressed upon the nations that 
held them in bondage. 

5. In the intellectual preparation for the Messiah, 
the Greek nation performed a most important part. 
Througli this people a language suitable for universal 
use was prepared which was very necessary to the 
propagation of a universal religion. The Hebrew 
language was too rigid and cumbersome, too provin- 
cial, too limited in its possibilities for the expression 
of nice shades of meaning to meet the requirements 
of the religion of Jesus Chrst. The Latin language 
was far too complicated to ever become a general 
medium of communication. The classic Greek also 



CHRIST THE CENTER OE HISTORY 133 

was too perfect in its character for everyday, common 
use, but in the providence of God, the common Greek 
tongue was developed by the minglings of the peoples 
who spoke the various Greek dialects in the army 
of Alexander. This was a much-needed preparation. 

Greek philosophy also assisted, in no small degree, 
in the general preparation. The doctrines of Socrates 
must necessarily have been a factor of no small im- 
portance in the intellectual preparation for the coming 
spiritual religion. 

Greece also furnished an important negative lesson. 
She showed the impotency of culture to solve the 
problem of human need. All that literature and art 
could do failed to lift man out of his degradation and 
moral corruption. 

6. It must be very evident that a political prep- 
aration was necessary for the successful propagation 
of a universal religion. Rome furnished this prepara- 
tion. Having succeeded in establishing a universal 
empire, she imposed terms of peace upon the nations 
that made it possible for the heralds of the cross to 
go everywhere preaching the Word. In connection 
with this great political preparation, she accomplished 
a physical preparation in the construction of her great 
Roman highways, making travel comparatively easy. 

7. In a general way, the preparation that had been 
made through the various nations may be summed up 
as follows : A great expectancy among all nations had 
been aroused. Even Confucius and Zoroaster had 
taught their disciples to look for a great coming One. 
Latin historians and Greek philosophers, with a 
prophetic acumen that seems almost miraculous, 
pointed to a coming kingdom and a coming king, and 
even heathen oracles contributed to some extent to 



134 THE KING OF KINGS 

this general expectancy through the providence and 
directing hand of God. 

Furthermore, the world had become bankrupt in 
hope. The impotency of the world's great men to 
solve the problem of human need, and to answer the 
deep questions of the human soul, had left the,world 
in gloom and despondency. Thus, it will be seen that 
all great nations from the beginning down to the com- 
ing of Christ contributed in negative and positive ways 
to the general preparation for the Messiah. Truly it 
may be said that Christ came in the fullness of time. 

III. Christ also stands at the focal point from 
which all lines of history, religious and secular, di- 
verge. 

1. Beginning with the inauguration of Christ's 
kingdom we have the institutions of baptism, the 
Lord's Supper and the Lord's Day pointing back to 
the great vital central facts of his history ; namely, 
his death, burial and resurrection. It is therefore very 
apparent that Christ is the central figure in God's 
plan for the salvation of'men. 

The religious history of the world since Christ's 
coming, seen in the multitudinous forms of idolatry, 
not only demonstrates man's impotency to devise a 
scheme of redemption, thus negatively pointing to 
Christ as the world's hope, but it shows the degrading 
effects of idolatry, thus negatively pointing to the one 
true and living God as the only portion of the soul, 
and to Jesus Christ who was God manifest in the 
flesh and the true answer to man's craving as ex- 
pressed by Philip, "Lord, show us the Father, and it 
sufificeth us." Thus Christ stands as the center of all 
true religious movement past and present, as is em- 
phasized by the great negative lesson of idolatry. 



CHRIST THE CENTER OF HISTORY 135 

2. The secular history since Christ furnishes two 
fingerboards, pointing to him — one positive and one 
negative. 

(1) The highest forms of civilization the v^orld 
has seen are Christian. Only where Christ has gon- 
is woman elevated and honored, childhood sacred and 
blessed, old age revered and cherished, and suffering 
pitied and relieved. Only in Christian lands, or in 
lands more or less dominated by Christian influences, 
are homes for the orphan, asylums for the unfortunate, 
hospitals for the sick and shelters for the aged. Only 
in Christian lands are the highest and best forms of 
government seen, guaranteeing to man freedom from 
oppression, the largest possible liberty consistent with 

he general good, and equal chances in the race of 
life, and if this is not practically realized it is because 
those chosen to legislate and rule place tinemselves in 
conflict with true theoretical principles of govern- 
ment, and with the principles of the kingdom of God, 
It should also be observed that only in Christian lands, 
or countries where Christian ideals have been adopted, 
are found institutions for higher or technical educa- 
tion, supported by private benevolence, and thus 
brought within reach of the humblest individual. 

Moreover, it is in Christian lands that literature in 
its purest and noblest forms flourishes, and art at- 
tains unto highest degrees of perfection. 

(2) Wherever Christ has not gone darkness 
covers the world and gross darkness the people, thus 
negatively emphasizing the truth that Christ uttered 
when he said, "I am the light of the world." Africa 
groveling in degradation without a single great leader 
in any department of human activity ; Asia with her 
Zoroaster, her Buddha, her Confucius and her Mo- 



136 THE KING OF KINGS 

hammed; and pagan America in her savagery and 
superstition, all negatively proclaim the immense su- 
premacy of the Christian system. 

Thus it appears that Christ stands in the focus of all 
history, religious and secular, in all ages from the crea- 
tion down to the present time. In the first place, there 
is a line of feligious history showing God's preparatory 
steps for the advent of the Messiah, the establishment 
of his kingdom and the memorial institutions pointing 
back to him. Contemporary with this is the negative 
preparation furnished by the human systems which 
have universally ended in failure and in the lowest 
degradation of man, thus shutting man up to the 
divine plan of salvation. Next we have lines of 
secular history, accomplishing the needed collateral 
preparation prior to Christ, and the secular line of 
evidence, furnished in the history of Christian nations, 
making manifest the wholly beneficent effects of Chris- 
tianity, and, with this, the negative evidence furnished 
in the history of the non-Christian nations, showing 
their utter inability to solve the great social and politi- 
cal problems that confront mankind. 

Does not all this point to the divinity of the One 
that stands at the center of all historic movements, re- 
ligious and secular, to whom the ages preceding him 
looked forward and the ages succeeding him look 
back? Must it not be apparent that he who has 
given the world the only religious system that meets 
man's wants and answers his deepest question, and 
who has enunciated the principles that result in highest 
forms of civilization and the best systems, social and 
political, is indeed what he claimed to be, the Son 
of God? 



CHAPTER XIL 

The Divinity of Christ as Proven by His 
Unique and Wonderful Personality. 

As a foundation for this chapter I can do no better 
than to quote a text from one of the great prophets 
of Israel. Isa. 9:6: "For unto us a child is born and 
unto us a son is given ; and the government shall be 
upon his shoulders ; and his name shall be called Won- 
derful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, 
Prince of Peace." Also a passage from the New Testa- 
ment, John 8 : 42 : *'If God were your Father, ye would 
love me ; for I came forth and am come from God ; 
for neither have I come of myself, but he sent me." 

Seven hundred and fifty years before the Saviour 
was born, the prophet Isaiah, looking forward to his 
coming and contemplating his marvelous character 
and life, said, "His name shall be called Wonderful." 

The world has seen many wonderful men. Yet 

God never commissioned any prophet to foretell the 

coming of any one under this name save Christ. 

When Jesus appeared among men, he fully justified 

the prediction of the prophet, "His name shall be called 

Wonderful," or, as some translate, "A wonder of a 

counsellor." When he was twelve years of age, 

the lawyers and doctors called him wonderful, and 

even his own parents looked on him with amazement. 

At thirty, when he came to be baptized, John thought 

he was wonderful. "I have need to be baptized, and 

137 



138 THE KING OF KINGS 

comest thou to me?" When he delivered his sermon 
on the mount the people thought he was wonderful. 
''They were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught 
them as one having authority." His whole life was a 
continual surprise to men. Every day was a vindica- 
tion of the prophetic voice. In all the ages that have 
intervened he vindicates his right to the name ''Won- 
derful." Men killed him, buried him, but after three 
days found an empty grave. Several times since men 
have done the same thing with his religion, with like 
results. To-day Christ is exciting more wonder than 
ever before. He is the marvel of the centuries, the 
wonder of the ages. 

In studying the life and character of Christ we 
see that the prophetic announcement and his own claim 
to divinity are substantiated. These are proven : 

I. By the fact that His miracles and inner life are 
in perfect harmony.* 

1. First, let us consider a miracle simply from 
without. Imagine a dead man lying in our presence : 
some one enters and speaks to him and he rises and moves 
about before us. Was this a trick or a reality? One 
says it is real, I saw it with my own eyes. The doubter 
says you may have been mistaken; he points to the 
conjuror who performs his wonders before the eyes of 
men, and openly declares them to be mere tricks, 
sleight-of-hand performances. Why, says the objector, 
may not the wonders Christ performed be of the same 
kind? 

2. Now look at the miracle from the other side. 



* For a discussion of this and some of the following points, 
see Parker's '.'Inner Life of Christ," pp. 316-330. I have placed 
Dr. Parker's discussion under tribute, as I consider it very 
valuable. 



CHRIST'S FIDELITY TO HIS CLAIM 139 

Watch the man who performs the wonder : get at his 
thoughts, purposes, desires. Are his mental triumphs 
equal to his physical? Test the conjuror: on the stage 
he baffles us. He is our superior; when he comes 
down his superiority vanishes. There is a wonderful 
disparity between the outer and inner self. He drops 
to the common level at once. Test Christ thus ; study 
his inner life ; in thought, sympathy, purpose, desire, 
teaching, he is as great as when he performs his mir- 
acles. In all he is like God. There was no inequality 
in Christ. This is not true of any one else. In Moses 
w^e see inequalities. He drops to the human level. 
The same is true of every one but Christ. 

3. This serves to explain Christ's estimate of mir- 
acles. He did not value them in themselves. He 
never paraded them or seemed proud of them. The 
reason is, because he was no greater without than 
within. It was not a phenomenal power, but merely 
an index finger pointing to the greater thing. 

II. Christ's fidelity to his claim under all circum- 
stances of life is a vindication of its truth. 

He declared, "I proceeded forth and came from 
God." ''God is my Father." It is remarkable that 
Christ was always true to his claim. At the age 
of twelve he said, 'T must be about my Father's 
business." In toil he said, ''The Father hitherto works, 
and I work." In trouble he said, "Father, let this cup 
pass." In danger he said, "Thinkest thou that I can- 
not beseech my Father and he shall even now send 
me more than twelve legions of angels?" In death he 
said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." 
He was true to his claim under all conditions and 
circumstances of life. The jewel of consistency shines 
never so brightly as in the life of Christ. 



140 THE KING OF KINGS 

III. Christ's claim was vindicated by the testi- 
mony of his contemporaries. 

1. Let our first witness be a man of influence and 
distinction among h\s people, Nicodemus by name. 
He was evidently cautious and discriminating. He 
came secretly by night. He had no motive for keep- 
ing back his true sentiments. What did he say? 
"Rabbi, thou art a teacher sent from God." 

2. The second witnesses are men of the world ; 
keen, shrewd, politic, suspicious and hard to be de- 
ceived. What did they say? They were expected to 
speak adversely. Did they do it? Listen. "Never 
man spake as this man." Wonderiul testimony this! 

3. The third witness: The Roman judge; calm, 
judicial, careful man. What did he say? 'T find no 
fault in him." He washes his hands and says, "1 will 
take no responsibility in this matter." 

4. Fourth witness : A woman, and her intuitions 
are seldom at fault. Pilate received a message from 
his wife, who said, "Have nothing to do with that just 
person." 

5. Fifth witness : Roman soldiers and the centu- 
rion. They had seen such scenes before. They have 
no motive now to falsify. The deed is done, Christ is 
nailed to the cross. What did they say? "Truly this 
man was the Son of God." 

IV. Christ's claim is vindicated by his personal 
influence. 

1. There is a certain quality in some men that 
draws or attracts. When they pass, all eyes turn to 
look at them. If they stop on the street, a crowd at 
once gathers. When they rise to speak, silence 
ensues. Men hang on their words. Nearly all the 
great military leaders have been men of this kind. 
Soldiers, wounded unto death, rise and shout as they 



CHRIST'S PERSONAL INFLUENCE 141 

pass. Napoleon was such a man. Two hundred and 
fifty thousand men sprang to arms at his call after 
the first exile. 

Study for a moment Christ in this light. How 
will he compare with the great of earth? He had no 
great memories of a hundred victories to give him 
prestige. On the contrary, Christ was weighed down 
with the experience of a twenty years' apprentice- 
ship in a carpenter shop. He had not the advantage 
growing out of distinguished birth or great educa- 
tion. Let us imagine a comparison. Some one 
might have said to Him, *T belong to the nobility. 
1 was born in a palace." Christ would have said, 
'T belong to the peasantry; I was born in a 
stable." One might have said, 'T graduated at 
Athens, the great university town." Christ would 
have replied, 'T never went to school a day in 
my life." Can such a man attract men? Will any one 
notice him? Can he draw a crowd? We read: ''And 
seeing the multitude, he went up into a mountain." 
Strange any multitude should come, and yet they did, 
and hung upon his words. Yonder he stands on the 
shore, a great crowd around him. He enters a boat and 
teaches them. He has gone out into a desert place. A 
great crowd came. Night came on, but they did not 
seem to be aware of it. They were fascinated by his 
presence. When he entered a town men left their 
work and filled the house and yard where he was. 
Mothers came with their children to have him lay 
hands on them. He entered Jerusalem, a crowd pre- 
ceded, casting branches in the way. He also drew 
individuals as well as masses. A nobleman came, 
and said, "My daughter is even now dead, but come 

and lay thy hand on her, and she shall live." "My 
(11) 



142 THE KING OF KINGS 

servant lieth sick," said a ruler; "but I am not worthy 
that thou shouldst come under my roof." A poor 
sick woman pressed through the crowd to touch the 
hem of his garment. There is also an overawing 
majesty about the Man. He sent multitudes away. 
His presence attracted the people, but his voice of 
authority could disperse them. AVhen they would 
stone him, he passed through the midst, and no man 
dared to hinder him. He entered the temple and 
looked around on all things. The majesty of his 
bearing was so impressive that the incident was re- 
membered and recorded years afterward. His im- 
mediate disciples stood in awe of him. The soldiers 
that crucified him were so impressed as to say, 
"Truly this was the Son of God." No wonder the 
prophet said, "His name shall be called Wonderful." 

V. Christ's claim finds support in the opposite 
extremes which his life presents. 

All life is made up of extreme experiences. The 
bright and dark spots are strangely mingled. Sun- 
shine and shadow follow each other in rapid suc- 
cession. No two persons have the same experience, 
yet all have varied experiences. But the life of Christ 
differs from all other lives in the sudden and opposite 
extremes found in it. It may be interesting to note 
a few examples. His advent is heralded by angels' 
song, "Glory to God in the highest;" soon he is being 
borne into Egypt, as helpless as any other babe. To- 
day he is in the temple arguing with the lawyers and 
doctors, and to-morrow he is at Nazareth subject to 
parents, like an ordinary child. He weeps at the grave 
like a helpless man, then says, "Lazarus, come forth," 
and the dead man obeys him. He sleeps in the boat 
like a tired mariner, then says, "Peace, be still," and 



OPPOSITE EXTREMES IN CHRIST'S LIFE 143 

the winds and sea obey. He was on the mount clothed 
in glory at midnight, in the morning in the valley 
doing works of mercy. He asked for drink, yet he 
poured out the oceans. Standing to be spit upon, 
yet able to wither his persecutors by a look. Cru- 
cified, when angels .would come to his rescue at 
his call. 

VI. Christ's claim is also proven by the univer- 
sality of his nature.* 

1. Every great man has something that circum- 
scribes him. Paul had his Jewish characteristics and 
feelings. Caesar was Roman in thought and desire. 
Napoleon's plans and purposes were chiefly for his 
own nation, and Gladstone thought and planned for the 
British Empire. All great men have had their limi- 
tations. 

2. Christ has nothing that limits him to race or 
class. His feelings, sympathies and plans overleap 
all barriers. He was not Jew, or Roman, or Grecian, 
but belonged to all. His words go into any language 
with perfect ease. He was "Son of man," child of 
the race. He made no distinctions based on race or 
class. He took into his plans all classes. The poor, 
despised woman and the rich Pharisee. He ate with 
sinners, also with the aristocratic. Every man was 
great because he was a man. Christ has, therefore, 
become the model for the purest philanthropy and 
most godlike charity. 

VII. Christ's claim is made good by his com- 
plete revelation of God.** 

* See "The Man of Galilee," by Haygood, for this point and 
for others which I have found helpful to my argument in several 
chapters. 

**Parker's "Inner Life of Christ" brings out this and the 
following point. 



144 THE KING OF KINGS 

Before Christ came, the world had never had a 
complete answer concerning God. The revelation had 
been partial, and hence not final, for the reason that 
man was not prepared to receive a full answer until his 
experiences had taught him his real needs and had 
shown him his own inability to supply those wants. 
Man's cry for God was therefore unsatisfied, even 
under the divine dispensations previous to Christ's 
coming. The answer concerning God must be prac- 
tical. It must reveal him in his true relations to man, 
and this could not be done until man's actual condition 
had been demonstrated. Philip said, "Lord, show us 
the Father and it sufficeth us." Philip expressed a 
universal desire. Jesus replied, "He that hath seen me 
hath seen the Father." Here is the answer the world 
needs, and this alone will satisfy. Here the definition 
of God is brought within the range of man's under- 
standing so far as God may be known by a finite being. 
We need then to know what Jesus in reality is, in order 
that our desire and expectancy may be met. Let Jesus 
give his own answer. 'T am the good shepherd." The 
world needs a shepherd. The cry of the greatest is for 
some one to lead them. "I am the door." This speaks 
of home and rest and peace. "I am the vine." This 
tells us of the source of supply. "I am the bread." 
This speaks of hunger satisfied. God in Jesus Christ 
shows himself to be the answer of every human want, 
and this answers the cry of the soul.^' 

VIII. Christ's claim is supported by the demands 
he makes on men. 

He demands our all. 'Tf a man would be my 
disciple let him deny himself and take up his cross 



*In Chapter XIII., pages 152-154, this thought is presented 
from a different viewpoint, and also in Chapter XVII., pages 229 
and 230, it is viewed from a different angle. 



CHRIST'S WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENTS 145 

and follow me." "He that loveth father or mother 
more than me is not worthy of me." Could demands 
be more exacting? He asks everything. He never 
offers to compromise. Life, property, family, all, if 
need be, must be surrendered. Will men pay the 
price. The case of the woman with her box of 
spikenard, and the widow with her two mites, shows 
some will pay this price most willingly. The former 
poured out her accumulated treasure, the result of 
all her toil; the latter gave all her living and faced 
starvation. You say this was fanaticism — I an- 
swer, ''No." 

In all ages the very best of the race have hon- 
ored this demand. They have freely surrendered life 
for Jesus, and count it all joy. They stand ready to 
do it to-day in countless thousands, and this fact 
stands in support of Christ's claim. 

IX. Christ's claim is abundantly proven by his 
wonderful achievements. 

1. Let us note the marvelous progress of the 
early church. Fifty days after its Founder had died 
an ignominious death on a Roman cross, upon the 
occasion of the first promulgation of the gospel 
among men, and in the city where its Founder had 
died, and hostility was intensest, three thousand 
bowed to the authority of Christ in a single day. Soon 
after, in the same place, other thousands acknowl- 
edged him as King, and within a few years it is esti- 
mated that the church in Jerusalem grew to thirty 
thousand souls. Soon the gospel spread from Judea 
to Samaria, and from Samaria to the uttermost parts 
of the earth. Churches were planted in all the great 
centers of the Roman world, both in Asia and Europe, 
and even in the imperial city itself. In a brief time. 



14G THE KING OF KINGS 

in the face of the most bitter opposition and the 
fiercest persecution, it overcame its adversaries and 
captured the throne of the Caesars. From the very 
beginning down to the present time it has made con- 
stant progress, and is to-day spreading with greater 
rapidity than at any time in its history.'*' 

2. The political results are no less wonderful 
than the religious results. The rights of men among 
all nations- are becoming more sacred, and the great- 
ness of man is coming to be more generally recog- 
nized. Citizenship in the light of Christian teaching 
is coming to be a far nobler thing, and laws are being 
administered with more impartial justice. Nations are 
becoming slower to encroach upon the rights of each 
other, and the sisterhood of nations bids fair to be 
more than a Utopian dream. 

3. The social results are equally striking. The 
Christian family, the unit of modern society, has been 
dignified, and has come to be the most blessed factor 
in our modern civilization. The duties of father, 
mother, children, neighbors and friends are coming 
to be better understood, and the social intercourse 
between men is being lifted up to a higher and nobler 
plane. 

AVoman is at last finding the place that God in- 
tended that she should occupy. From being the 
slave of man, she is truly becoming his helpmate. 
The chains of galling slavery under which she so 
long suffered are being stricken off, and to her is 
now being given her God-given place in the family, 
in the church and in society at large. 

4. The eleemosynary results are also truly won- 



*The "Gospel Preacher," by Benjamin Franklin, brings out 
this point. 



CHRIST'S WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENTS 147 

derful. Go search the ruins of ancient cities and 
inquire for their institutions of charity. Where are 
the homes for the widow and orphan? The asylums 
for the unfortunate, the hospitals for the sick? They 
are not to be found. The world into which Christ 
was born was a world of terrible cruelty. Might 
made right and weakness was despised. Old people 
and deformed children were put to death, lest they 
might become a public burden, but under the influ- 
ence of the teachings of Jesus all this is changed. 
Everything in the shape of man has become sacred. 
The world is being filled with institutions of charity. 
We have homes for the friendless, asylums for the 
blind and deaf and maimed and crippled, and even 
for the idiotic. Weakness is no longer despised, but 
pitied, and Christian men and Christian nations pour 
out their money as freely as water to alleviate the 
suffering and misfortunes of mankind. 

5. The evangelistic results at the present time 
indicate that the Church of Christ has not lost her 
vigor. It has made more progress in the last century 
than it made during the first eighteen hundred years. 
In its missionary efforts it is circling the globe, and 
the far-away islands of the sea are to-day rejoicing 
In the salvation offered through the gospel of Christ. 
The day for which the prophets looked is drawing- 
near. The kingdom of Christ will soon be extended 
from the river to the ends of the earth, and the King 
of peace will soon wield his scepter over a regenerated 
world. 

Christ's purpose never seemed so near fulfillment 
as now. Soon we shall hear the shout of victory an- 
nouncing the overthrow of Satan and the triumph of 
our King. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Argument Based on the Beneficent Fruits 
of Christ's Great Dominant Thoughts.* 

Matt. 7:16: "By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men 
gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" 

1. Every man and every system must submit to 
be judged by the great principle enunciated in this 
declaration of the Master, and stand or fall accord- 
ingly; and He who uttered this truth would be the 
last one to shrink from its application in his own 
case. Christianity makes no plea for charity or mercy 
at the hands of men. She says, "Judge me by my 
fruits." If the fruit is good, the tree must be good, 
but if it is evil, the tree must be evil. By this test 
she courts the judgment of mankind, and confidently 
awaits the issue. 

2. As a second thought, introducing this chapter, 
I would call attention to the fact that the world at 
any given time is made by certain dominant or trans- 
forming ideas which determine the prevailing char- 
acter of the people and their institutions, religious, 
social and political. It does not require many great 
controlling thoughts to make a nation or a world. 
Even one great thought may so take possession of a 
nation that it will serve to differentiate it from all 



* I have gotten helpful suggestions in preparing this chapter 
from "Gesta Christi," by C. Loring Brace, and "The Divine 
Origin of Christianity," by Storrs. 
148 



DOMINANT THOUGHTS PRIOR TO CHRIST 149 

contemporaneous peoples. Paul said, *'The Jews ask 
for signs and the Greeks seek after wisdom," and he 
might have added the Romans seek after power. The 
Jews demanded signs in evidence of a divine calling or 
mission. Their great, dominant idea was one true and 
living God. To him they looked as the source of power 
and authority. Consequently, whoever came with pecu- 
liar claim or mission was asked to show a sign ; that 
is, work a miracle to show his divine authority. The 
Greeks made wisdom the end of life, and the Romans 
sought power. Hence the Jews were characterized 
by religion, the Greeks by philosophy, and the Ro- 
mans by power, and, as a consequence, by jurispru- 
dence. Hence, one of her great poets said, "It i^ 
yours, O Rome, to give laws to the nations, to humble 
the haughty and protect the lowly." But while one 
great thought may come to characterize a nation it 
requires three controlling thoughts to dominate the 
whole circle of human life ; namely, the idea of God, 
the idea of religion and the idea of man. 

I would here call attention to : 

I. The dominant thoughts prior to the advent 
of Christ into the world. 

1. That the God idea, outside of the Hebrew 
nation, when Jesus was born into the world was 
polytheistic, perhaps no one will dispute. If there 
was a primitive monotheism general in the world, 
as some think, and as the Bible sanctions, it had long 
since been lost when Christ appeared. This poly- 
theism, being largely the deification of the passions 
of the human soul and the various forces and aspects 
of nature, both beneficent and destructive, had borne 
its awful fruit of lust, sensuality, cruelty and corrup- 
tion in religious ceremonies and practices, and, as a 



150 THE KING OF KINGS 

consequence, also in the daily lives of the people. 
However, polytheism, with its awful fruits, had dis- 
gusted many of the more intelligent people, who had 
drifted into patheism or atheism as a natural result. 
But notwithstanding the gross idolatry of a world- 
wide polytheism, with all its hideous rites and prac- 
tices, the Hebrew nation had succeeded in grasping 
and preserving the doctrine of one true and living 
God with the attributes of infinite wisdom, power 
and goodness ; a spiritual God, whom even it was a 
sin to represent by an image, and yet withal a per- 
sonal God. This conception had been divinely im- 
planted and kept alive in a chosen nation for a 
distinct purpose in working out the great scheme of 
human redemption. 

2. The religions of the world into wliich Christ 
came were the natural fruit of the universal polythe- 
istic conceptions of God. They had no connection 
with morality or purity of life, much less with service 
to mankind. The rites consisted of formalities devoid 
of spiritual meaning, gross and sensual practices sup- 
posed to be pleasing to the gods, and sacrifices in- 
tended to appease their anger or merit their favor; 
and why should not this be so, since even the worst 
passions of the human soul as well as the destruc- 
tive forces of nature were deified? 

3. As to man there was no conception of his 
inherent dignity. The idea of a divine, omnipotent, 
omniscient Creator not being in the thought of the 
world, as a matter of course a divine Creator for 
man was not conceived of. The most fantastic 
theories of the origin of men and even of the gods, 
were taught. All, however, were conceived of as 
earth-born, and hence having no inherent dignity. 



CHRIST'S DOMINANT THOUGHTS 151 

Human greatness consisted of some accident that 
might attach to the individual. A man might be 
great by virtue of his power, as, for example, an 
Alexander or a Caesar; he might be great by virtue 
of his wisdom, as, for instance, a Socrates or a Plato; 
or he might be great by virtue of his wealth, of 
which class Croesus was a notable example ; but all 
these are mere accidents, class notions, and conse- 
quently a society based on such ideas must be a 
class society, and per consequence a cruel, unjust 
society. Christ found a monstrously cruel world ; a 
fearfully unjust world; a world of almost universal 
slavery. In short, ''Man's inhumanity to man" was 
a well-nigh universal fact. 

Thus we see the awful condition which was super- 
induced by three false ideas ; namely, a false concep- 
tion of God, a false conception of religion, and a false 
conception of man. 

In order to have a new world we must have new 
controlling ideas, and hence I would call attention to : 

II. The great dominant thoughts that Christ gave 
the world. 

One of the biographers of Christ gives a beautiful 
and inspiring account of His advent into the world. 
On the night of his birth angels appeared unto the 
shepherds, who kept watch over their flocks, and 
sang, ''Glory to God in the highest, and on earth 
peace among men in whom he is well pleased." 

Why this angel song? Why this chorus sung by 
the heavenly host? Because in the Bethlehem 
manger, hard by, a babe was born of a virgin, who 
when grown to manhood would give to the world 
new thoughts that would make a new world. These 
thoughts were simply the true ideas set over against 



152 THE KING OF KINGS 

the three false conceptions that had made the cruel, 
unjust and corrupt world into which the babe of 
Bethlehem was born. 

1. The idea that Jesus gave the world concern- 
ing God was in part the divine idea that had been 
intrusted to the Jewish nation, but with additions 
and enlargements which made it in reality a new 
thing, and for the giving of which God had been 
preparing through the ages. Jesus laid hold of all 
that God had been to the Jew. The God of the 
New Testament, like the God of the Old, is a spir- 
itual being, having unity and personality — one who 
is omnipotent, omniscient, eternal — a God of justice, 
mercy and truth; a God of purity, uprightness and 
love. But Christ enriched it all with a nobler, fuller 
meaning, and made it a much more vitalizing force 
in the lives of men. Among the constitutional limi- 
tations of the human mind, in the reception of truth, 
is the psychological fact that truth can be clearly 
grasped only as it is approached through the concrete 
embodiment of the truth to be conveyed. That is 
to say, the abstract follows the concrete in order to 
its clear apprehension. Consequently an abstract 
presentation of God could not fully meet and satisfy 
the human mind. This explains the request of Philip, 
"Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Had 
not God manifested himself unto Israel? Certainly 
so far as it could be done by a word revelation. Nay, 
more, so far as it could be done by wonderful provi- 
dential dealings with an elect nation, but still there 
was something needed, as is shown by the request of 
Philip, who but voices a universal desire. In this lies 
the philosophy of the incarnation so much ridiculed 
by some, but, when properly viewed, meeting a con- 



CHRIST'S DOMINANT THOUGHTS 153 

stitutional necessity of man. We need a concrete 
manifestation of God in order to understand, in any 
adequate way, the abstract conception of him pre- 
sented in a word revelation. Hence said Christ, in 
answer to Philip : ''He that hath seen me hath seen 
the Father." Christ is God in human form, moving 
on the plane of human action. This is the presenta- 
tion of the God idea in the form adapted to the 
human soul, and from this and through this mani- 
festation the abstract view of God given in the Cld 
Testament is interpreted and made real and vitaliz- 
ing. As Christ acted and felt and spoke, so God 
acts, feels and speaks. Here we get the idea of 
God for which the world had unconsciously waited. 
It was not different from the God idea of the Hebrew, 
because all the content of that idea was conserved, but 
it was made fuller, larger, richer, and brought more 
within range of the human understanding than any 
merel}^ abstract conception could be. It is in fact the 
bringing of the idea of God down from the heights, 
as it were, and causing it to move before us in in- 
carnate form and hence in a way to be most fully 
and completely grasped by the human mind. It 
was the making of the true God idea a practical 
reality by presenting it in the form of a pattern for 
our imitation. Hence says Paul, "We with unveiled 
face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, 
are transformed into the same image from glory to 
glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord." This is the 
way the God idea becomes an exceedingly practical 
transforming force in human life. 

It is also to be noted that this incarnation of the 
God idea has served to give it the universality that 
is needed for the salvation of the race. Jesus was 
absolutely free from all race or class or caste limi- 



154 THE KING OF KINGS 

tations. His sympathies and aims were as wide as 
humanity. His love overleaped all barriers. His 
gospel appeals to the universal heart. Hence his com- 
mission was as wide as the race. With such a God 
as is represented in Jesus Christ henotheism is as 
impossible as polytheism. The incarnation of God in 
Christ Jesus is therefore the death-knell of all false 
gods, and the complete satisfaction of the desire of 
the soul. He is the one eternal, omnipotent, omnis- 
cient, changeless Being, the Creator of all things, but, 
by the incarnation, brought within the grasp of the 
human mind and within the reach of human repro- 
duction in so far as the knowledge and reproduction 
of the infinite can be grasped and accomplished by a 
limited finite being. This conception gives to man 
the noblest possible origin, making him the child of 
God with a potential, blessed and happy destiny of 
limitless extent. Consequently, this incarnate God 
laid down his life and took it up again, thus bringing 
life and immortality to light, and giving to man the 
hope of a life eternal. 

2. The second great controlling, transforming 
thought that Jesus gave the world pertained to re- 
ligion. Instead of the monstrous and degrading con- 
ceptions of God that entered into the multiform 
religions of the polytheistic world, and the impure 
rites and inhuman practices supposed to be pleasing 
and acceptable to gods of like passions with the 
human votary, Jesus taught that true religion was 
not a matter of place or form or ceremony, that it 
was not a matter of appeasing the wrath of God by 
offerings or self-inflicted punishments, or of pleasing 
the impure desires of gods by lustful practices no less 
dishonoring to the being worshiped than to the wor- 



CHRIST'S DOMIXAXT THOUGHTS 155 

shiper; but he lifted religion to the highest possible 
plane by making it in its Godward aspect to consist 
of the adoration and worship of a pure, upright, 
loving, perfect Beiiig, infinite in all his attributes, and 
in its manward aspect to consist of fullest service to 
mankind. Hence, Jesus regarded service rendered to 
mankind as service done to himself, and James, one 
of his apostles, declared : ''Pure religion and undefiled 
before our God and Father is this, to visit the father- 
less and widows in their affliction and to keep one- 
self unspotted from the world." It was a wonderful 
apocalypse as to the nature of religion when Jesus 
said to the Samaritan woman, who thought accept- 
able worship was a question of locality, and this had 
been true under the Mosaic economy : ''Woman, be- 
lieve me the hour cometh when neither in this moun- 
tain nor yet in Jerusalem shall ye worship the Father. 
. . . But the hour cometh, and now is, when the 
true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit 
and in truth, for such doth the Father seek to be his 
worshipers. God is a spirit, and they that worship 
him must worship in spirit and in truth." Here is the 
beginning of the spiritual worship, which, with its 
complement, service to mankind, constituted the idea 
of religion that Christ gave to the world. If the pure, 
spiritual worship of God, as taught by Christ, has 
in some instances been corrupted by forms and cere- 
monies without the spirit, as is doubtless the case ; if 
the pure and undefiled religion of Christ and his apos- 
tles has been devitalized by the misconceptions or 
perversions of men, charge it not up against the 
Christian system, but charge it up against the de- 
partures from the Christ idea, which, when clearly 
grasped, has ever proven most beneficent. 



156 THE KING OF KINGS 

3. The third great dominant thought of Christ 
had reference to man. With him human greatness 
did not consist in any of the accidents that may 
attach to man. Man was great, independent of the 
accidents of wealth or power or wisdom, or any other 
ennobling circumstance. He was great aside from 
the fact of race or nationality or class. He was great, 
even independent of the universal constitutional fact 
of sex. Consequently Paul, the apostle of Jesus 
Christ, declared, 'T am not ashamed of the gospel of 
Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to 
every one that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to 
the Greek." He also declared, 'Tor ye are all the 
sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of 
you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 
There can be neither Jew nor Greek ; there can be 
neither bond nor free ; there can be no male and female, 
for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus." All this falls 
into line with the great commission of our Lord, who 
sent his apostles to the whole creation with the mes- 
sage of grace. But you ask what was Christ's con- 
ception of the greatness of man? In what did it 
consist? I answer, in the intrinsic quality of man as 
such. Man is great simplv because he is man. Each 
man, every man, is greater than all the universe out- 
side of God's intelligent beings. Therefore, he said, 
"What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world 
and forfeit his life?" With Christ the individual was 
great stripped of everything that men call great. 
Therefore, he looked upon humanity with a wholly 
impartial eye. He went in and ate with publicans and 
sinners. The outcasts warmed themselves in the 
sunshine of his presence. The common people heard 
him gladly because he spoke to the universal heart. 



RESULTS OF CHRIST'S THOUGHTS 157 

Down beneath the rough, uncouth, unlovely exterior 
of the lowest, humblest, yea, even vilest individual 
he saw a jewel of priceless worth. He was the first 
one to grasp the idea expressed by the poet Burns^ 
who, after considering the lowly condition, humble 
circumstances and coarse garb of some men, ex- 
claimed: 

"A man's a man for a' that — 

For a' that and a' that. 
The rank is but the guinea's stamp; 

The man's the goud for a' that." 

Here, then, we have the three great transforming 
thoughts that Christ gave the world — the true ideas 
of God, religion and man. 

III. The results of Christ's great thoughts upon 
the world.* 

1. It has given us a spiritual religion void of 
superstition adapted to every individual of the race,, 
entirely apart from any qualifying circumstance : A 
religion that fits the child and the philosopher, the 
poor and the rich, the rude and the cultured, the 
servant and the master; men of low or high degree, 
male or female, bond or free ; such a religion as only 
God, who made all men and understands all men,, 
could provide for all men ; or, to state it in another 
way, such a religion as only the one true and living 
God could give to his creature man. 

2. The great, dominant ideas of Christ are re- 
sponsible for the larger measure of freedom that men 
are coming to have wherever Christianity has gone. 

(1) Christianity has done this not by direct legis- 
lation of an ecclesiastical kind. On the contrary, 



*In Chapter XIX., latter part, some of these results are re- 
ferred to in giving summary. 
(12) 



158 THE KING OF KINGS 

Paul sent a slave back to his master and he taught 
the mutual duties of master and servant. How, then, 
can the statement just made be defended? It is in 
this way : Christianity effects great reforms and cor- 
rects great abuses, not by direct legislation that would 
stir up strife and lead to disastrous consequences, 
and no doubt defeat the very end in view by precip- 
itating questions for which there had not been the 
necessary preparation, and for which public senti- 
ment was in no sense prepared, but by the inculcation 
of great principles that must in the very nature of 
the case produce the desired fruit. When Jesus 
taught the inherent dignity and greatness of each and 
every man he uttered a doctrine that would in the 
very nature of the case emancipate the slave. Slavery 
is incompatible with Christ's doctrine concerning 
man. ]\Ien may not recognize it in the beginning, 
but as they grasp it- in all of its far-reaching meaning, 
and come really to understand its logical application, 
every v/rong and injustice under which man suffers 
must be put down. If each man is intrinsically in- 
finite in value, and a child of the King, then one 
man may not hold another in bondage and deny to 
him his natural inherent rights. Under the opera- 
tion of this great principle, the holding of men in 
physical bondage has practically disappeared wher- 
ever Christianity has gone. If other forms of slavery 
exist, such for instance as industrial slavery, they are 
in opposition to the principle that Christ declared, 
and in the general course and upward sweep of events 
it is only a question of time until they too must 
perish. 

(2) Christianity has given to us the political gov- 
ernments in which the largest liberty is guaranteed 



RESULTS OF CHRIST'S THOUGHTS 159 

to the individual consistent with the general good. 
Where have the magna chartas and constitutions of 
civil and religious liberty been written? In Christian 
lands. Christ's doctrine of individual greatness, apart 
from all accidents that may attach to man, is the 
palladium of liberty. Christ is the remote author of 
every instrument guaranteeing liberty to men. You 
may say Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of 
Independence. I feel warranted in declaring that 
Jesus Christ enunciated the principle that made such 
a declaration possible. 

(3) We hear much said about free speech, free 
press and free church. From whence do these ideas 
come? They spring out of and are based on the 
conception of the nature and dignity of man that 
Jesus gave to the world? Free institutions can not 
grow out of or rest on the doctrine of class greatness 
or the greatness that comes from some accident that 
may attach to men. On the contrary, free institu- 
tions are a Christian product resting upon the in- 
trinsic, inherent, individual greatness of man, which 
is the idea Christ gave to the world. In connection 
with this, I would say that human rights in every 
form, including trial by jury, the sacredness of the 
human person, the equal interests of all in the great 
natural resources, rest finally in the doctrine of the 
greatness of the individual man. If you would take 
out of the world the idea concerning man that Christ 
taught, you would destroy a large part of the blessed 
fruits of our civilization to-day. 

3. Christ's idea concerning man has given us a 
new social economy. Down beneath the social order 
lies the question of woman's status in the popular 
mind. When Christ came into the world woman was 



160 THE KING OF KINGS 

a slave to the most abominable and unjust social 
customs. She had no rights except such as man 
might choose to give her, and if he chose to give her 
nothing, she had no redress. In Roman law she was 
the sister of her own children; that is, she occupied 
the status of her own child. What she received was a 
matter of favor from the lord of creation, her hus- 
band, or perchance a mere matter of chivalry and not 
of natural right. Among the German tribes, with 
whom woman occupied a position of considerable in- 
fluence and authority, she had no rights in law. A 
man might cut off the limbs of his wife, or mutilate 
her body, but the law took no account of it. Polygamy 
was an almost universal, social custom or habit. 
Woman was looked upon as very inferior, and in no 
sense the equal of man, as is the case even to-day 
where Christianity has not gone. 

But what has happened to woman where Christ's 
doctrine of the greatness of man, irrespective of sex, 
has gone? Polygamy has disappeared. It can not 
survive where this principle is allowed to have sway. 
Gradually woman has been emancipated. She is rec- 
ognized in law and enjoys its protection equally with 
man. She can not be sold as a chattel, as was the 
case before Christ came, and as is the case now in 
many places where Christ has not gone. If there are 
rights that are still denied her, it is because reforms 
are slow, since it takes a long time to educate the 
masses of men up to the high level where they can 
recognize all the rights of their fellows. 

The Christian home is the most sacred and blessed 
place beneath the skies, and this is the unit of society 
as we know it to-day. 

4. Christ's idea of the greatness of the individual 



• RESULTS OF CHRIST'S THOUGHTS 161 

man has produced what has been termed the sister- 
hood of nations. That there is much selfishness and 
jealousy, yea, even injustice, even among Christian 
nations, I will neither attempt to excuse nor deny, but 
the sentiments existing between nations to-day are so 
vastly superior to those that existed when Christ 
came as to justify the claim that we are living in a 
new world. Might made right among the nations 
as among the individuals when Christ came. Every 
nation regarded every other nation as its natural 
enemy. Each looked upon the other with covetous 
eyes. Wars of conquest were continually waged, and 
the victors despoiled the conquered, carried off their 
wealth for their own enrichment and put to death or 
carried captive the conquered peoples. Legates or 
ambassadors, though commonly respected for obvious 
reasons, were frequently put to death. Weak nations 
sooner or later had to succumb to the stronger, 
even if for a time this was prevented by the jealousy 
of the stronger powers. Think what a mighty change 
has come to pass. A high code of international ethics 
is maintained. The science of international law has 
been developed within the Christian era. It would 
be impossible now for a national herald or messenger 
to be imprisoned or put to death. Great international 
courts are now held for the adjudication of disputed 
questions. Peace congresses are being held from 
time to time looking to the disarmament of all nations 
preparatory to, and anticipatory of, a universal and 
perpetual peace. Human life is becoming too sacred 
a thing to be sacrificed in the settlements of dispvites 
between nations. And why all this? Because of the 
doctrine of the dignity and greatness of the indi- 
vidual man as taught by Jesus of Nazareth. 



162 THE KING OF KINGS 

It was reserved for the United States to give the 
highest exhibition of national unselfishness and 
philanthropy ever given to the world. If a like 
example was ever furnished, I have never learned of 
it or do not recall it. I refer to the action taken by 
our Government in behalf of oppressed Cuba. When 
she was writhing under the heel of her oppressor, 
with but little hope of relief, our Government said to 
Spain, "Restore order and peace, or give her liberty." 
Millions were voted from the national treasury to 
prosecute a war in behalf of that oppressed people, 
and that too without hope of reward. Nay, rather, 
the declaration was made in advance that there was 
no intention of annexation. And wdien victory was 
won, we quietly retired and left the liberated free to 
establish their own Government. Does any one 
imagine that such a thing could have been done prior 
to the advent of Jesus Christ? 

5. The effects of Christ's idea of man upon our 
educational systems and mental culture generally 
should not be overlooked. 

(1) The free school system of this and other 
lands seems to be such a necessary and beneficent 
thing that we accept it without asking from whence 
it came. Popular education was unknown when 
Christ came. It has been said that the school of 
Plato was not invaded by the footsteps of the me- 
chanic and tradesman. Plato taught a very select 
school. Only the favored few had access to it. The 
same was true in Egypt. The great schools belonged 
to the royal or priestly classes. They were not in- 
tended for the children of the many. Of all ancient 
nations only Israel had anything approximating pop- 
ular instruction, and that was very far different from 



RESULTS OF CHRIST'S THOUGHTS 165 

the systems of popular education supported at public 
expense to-day. As some one has said, referring to 
the time before Christ came, "Philosophy dwelt on 
high. She was considered too sacred to be approached 
except by the favored few." But now philosophy has 
come down from the heights. Her blessings are scat- 
tered beside all waters. Why all this? Wherein lies 
the explanation? Is it not apparent that Christ's doc- 
trine concerning man explains it, and that alone? 
Childhood, which was once despised, has now become 
a sacred thing. Even the smallest, humblest child is 
of infinite value. Hence it is entitled to an educa- 
tion that its fullest possibilities may be realized. 

(2) But Christianity has done another thing.. 
She has given a new education by giving a new 
analysis of man. It is only Christian education that 
educates the whole man. Recognizing man's three- 
fold nature — body, intellect and religious or moral 
nature — she sets to work to provide for every part 
of her complicated subject. The body, being the most 
obvious factor in man, was recognized by ancient 
peoples, and was consequently provided for in the 
systems of education and notably so in Greece. In 
her great national athletic games she gave a great 
stimulus to physical education, and in so far as she 
did this, she is to be praised. Furthermore, her great 
national ideal, wisdom, with its necessary corollar}^ 
perfection, led her to try to reach the highest degree 
of excellence in everything she undertook. Conse- 
quently when she undertook the development of the 
body, she tried to make it perfect. Did she succeed? 
Do we not go back to Greece to-day for our highest 
ideals of physical perfection? In her painting and 
sculpture she has left a record that testifies to her 



164 THE KING OF KINGS 

superlative achievement in physical culture, as well 
as in art. She also recognized the intellectual factor 
in man, and provided for its development in no mean 
^vay. The intellectual products that she produced 
hold their place among the intellectual giants of all 
the ages. But what a startling lesson she has given 
us. As a nation she stands unsurpassed in the physi- 
cal and intellectual development of man, but she has 
^iven us at the same time the saddest picture of 
moral degradation. "A Corinthian" has become the 
synonym for corruption. This shows that physical 
and intellectual development may be entirely disso- 
ciated from moral culture, and, alas, our own obser- 
vation in this age confirms the sad lesson taught by 
ancient Greece. We see many intellectual giants with 
almost faultless bodies who are moral lepers. What 
was wrong with the education of Greece, the nation 
that has given us the best education of any ancient 
people? Simply this, she either did not recognize the 
religious factor in man, or she made no proper pro- 
vision for it. But how could she be expected to do 
so? The God of revelation had not been given to her. 
She had the God idea that was the universal heritage 
of the ancient world, except in the Jewish nation. 
Greece could not have given a proper religious cul- 
ture, even if she had recognized man's religious na- 
ture. But how does the matter stand now? Chris- 
tianity has given the complete analysis, and she setD 
to work to provide for the whole man in her educa- 
tional system. If any so-called Christian college does 
not do this it is untrue to its name and profession, 
and there is far less excuse for that sort of thing in 
this day than for ancient Greece. Now the Sun of 
righteousness has risen, with healing in his beams. 



RESULTS OF CHRIST'S THOUGHTS 1G5 

Now the Christian conception of man has given us a 
more just and adequate view of him, and consequently 
revealed the true conception of his education. I re- 
cently heard a president of a great State university 
say, "The State can not give religious instruction,'* 
and he assigned as a reason the fact of sectarian Chris- 
tianity. The idea, of course, was that sectarian 
jealousy made it impossible to give religious instruc- 
tion lest students should be taught doctrines obnox- 
ious to their parents. I think he was wrong in this, 
because the great doctrines of the Bible are not 
■ sectarian. The doctrines that make sectarians are 
extra-Biblical. He also said that, even if the objec- 
tion of sectarianism could be overcome, still there 
remains the fact that State schools are supported by 
the taxes of Jews, infidels and Christians, which makes 
religious teaching impossible in State schools. Here 
I think he put forth an argument of much more merit, 
and of far greater strength. But if this is true, then 
the State school for the higher culture work is a 
dangerous place to send a young man or woman. As 
long as the student can be kept in the home, and 
under the influence of the home church, the godless 
character of the public school may in a measure be 
neutralized, but as soon as the young person passes 
out from the religious influences of the home and 
home church, and falls into the unreligious, not to 
say irreligious, atmosphere of a State university, do 
not be surprised if dire results follow the experiment. 
Christian parents little dream of the danger to which 
they expose their children when they send them to 
the so-called great State schools. The college or uni- 
versity under Christian auspices and influences, is 
the only safe place in which to educate young people. 



166 THE KING OF KINGS 

This may seem like a harsh and uncharitable judg- 
ment, but a long experience in educational work, and 
a somewhat close observation, justifies me in the as- 
sertion. We have far too many intellectual giants 
Vv^ho are moral dwarfs to permit the belief that our 
system of public education is all that it should be. 
The Christian school, instead of having become out- 
classed, as some claim, was never so much needed as 
it is to-day, and indications are not wanting that 
Christian people are waking up to that fact. After 
this slight digression, I return to the proposition that 
Christ's idea concerning man has given the world a 
new education, both in its popular and intrinsic char- 
acter. 

(3) In addition to the two ways in which Chris- 
tianity has afifected the education of the world, I 
must mention the general quickening imparted to the 
intellectual life of the world. The three great ideas 
that Christ gave to the world could not but greatly 
affect the general intellectual life of the people wher- 
ever Christianity has obtained controlling power. 
This is shown nowhere more strongly than in the 
literature of Christian nations. I do not limit this 
statement to the literature produced by Christian 
men, but to literature generally in Christian lands. 
Poetry, philosophy, fiction — in short, every form of 
literature — has been largely influenced by Christian 
thought, Bible phraseology and Bible style. The 
classic literature of the ancient pagan world was ar- 
tistic in finish and marvelous in its diction, but its 
moral tone was very low. Some one has pointed out 
the wonderful moral drop from Isaiah to Homer. 
The same moral drop is seen between the literature 
of Christian nations and that of the ancient pagan 



RESULTS OF CHRIST'S THOUGHTS 1G7 

peoples. Scarcely an author can be found in Chris- 
tian countries, be he a professed Christian or not, 
whose ideas are not largely colored by Christian 
thought, and whose diction is not influenced by the 
Bible writers. Biblical words, metaphors and similes 
abound, and the moral standards that Christianity has 
produced are accepted and set forth as a matter of 
course. Whenever a work is produced that sets aside 
the Christian morality, the general moral sentiment 
of the people is outraged, and there is a protest, not 
only from Christians, but from those who make no 
profession of religion. This shows how greatly Chris- 
tian sentiment has permeated the general intellectual 
life and thought of Christian nations. 

But aside from this should be noted the general 
quickening of intellectual life, as shown in all forms 
of thought, whether in theoretic expression or prac- 
tical application. Improvements of every character 
and inventions of all kinds abound in nations in direct 
proportion to their Christianity. To state this fact 
is all that is necessary in order to receive general 
consent. Jesus Christ has been the intellectual quick- 
ener of mankind wherever he has gone. 

6. The dominant thoughts of Christ have done 
much to elevate public morals in all Christian lands. 
The picture that Paul, the apostle, gives of the moral 
degradation of the ancient world is something terrible. 
Such pollution and impurity is scarcely thinkable in 
our day, and yet we sometimes feel that the world is 
even yet fearfully corrupt. But we have come a long 
distance from ancient Rome, or even from cultured 
Athens. The gladiatorial combats of the Roman 
amphitheater would not be tolerated now in truly 
Christian lands, to say nothing of the wholesale 



168 THE KING OF KINGS 

slaughter of captives by wild beasts for the holiday 
delectation of the callous, inhuman multitude. I have 
only to hint at a few things to suggest to the intel- 
ligent mind the many points of vast improvement in 
the morals of to-day. The gluttony and drunkenness 
practiced at ancient feasts by even the nobility are 
hideously revolting to the modern mind. Among the 
nations of the earth when Christ appeared, virtue was 
a thing to be sneered at, and all classes, rich and 
poor, philosopher and rustic boor, vied with each 
other in the hideous, lustful practices. It was indeed 
an awful world, too vile even to be spread upon the 
printed page for the eyes of the people of Christian 
lands. The general public to-day would not excuse 
the author who would presume to picture the cruelty, 
lust and general debauchery of the ancient world in 
a specific way. We can only speak in general terms, 
otherwise we would oflfend the moral sensibilities of 
this uplifted world wherever Christianity has gone. 
This alone tells the story of the immense moral rise 
efifected by the ideas of God, religion and man that 
Jesus of Nazareth gave to the world. Here we rest 
the case, so far as this line of argument is concerned. 



CHAPTER XIV, 

The Divinity of Christ as Proven by His 
Mental Superiority.* 

"He needed not that any should bear witness concerning 
man; for he himself knew what was in man."— John 2:25. 

The wisdom of Christ was a subject of prophecy, 
as has been stated in a previous, chapter. Isaiah 
said, ''His name shall be called Wonderful, Coun- 
sellor," and he also declared that "the Spirit of the 
Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom 
and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, 
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." 
These utterances are abundantly justified by Christ's 
teachings and the knowledge he displayed of all mat- 
ters bearing on man's condition, needs and destiny. 
Even the few words of his that have come down to 
us justify the language of some in his day that: 
"'Never man spake as this man." 

I. Christ's divinity is shown by his profound 
insight into human nature. 

I. Let us ask what was the ultimate object 
Christ had in view. In the prayer he taught his 
disciples, the first petition was : "Thy kingdom come, 
thy will be done on earth as it Is in heaven." God's 



* I am especially indebted in this chapter to "The Man of 
Galilee," by Haygood, for helpful thouehts and suggestions. 
Josiah Strong's works, "Our Country" and "The New Era," have 
furnished valuable thoughts. I am also indebted to a discussion 
of the difference between philosophy and Christianity that I have 
somewhere read, but which I can not now recall. 

169 



170 THE KING OF KINGS 

will is the fountain of all order, harmony and peace. 
Heaven is heaven because God's will is done. Earth 
is not heaven^ because God's will is not done. When 
all men shall make the will of God the law of life, 
heaven and earth will meet. Evidently, the whole 
purpose of Christ's scheme is to lift men up to right 
thought and right action ; in short, to bring man's 
will into harmony with the will of God. 

In a general way, the ultimate object of Christ 
respecting mankind has been sought through other 
agencies than that of the church. Many schemes 
have been devised for curing human nature of its 
vices, and helping it up to' a high moral plane, where 
justice and right prevail. Many systems have been 
proposed, differing to some extent, but the differ- 
ences are unimportant. Some are purely philosophic 
and some are religio-philosophic, if th'. term may 
be allowed, but all these schemes may be included 
under the comprehensive term "philosophy." The 
systems of Confucius, Zoroaster and Mohammed are 
religio-philosophic in character; that is, they seek 
to cure human ills through the inculcation of relig- 
ious principles and superstitions somewhat philos- 
ophic in character. Ever since the time of Socrates, 
philosophy, as dissociated from religious systems, has 
been engaged In solving this problem. It has had 
two great purposes : First, to teach men what is 
right ; that is, to show them in what right consists ; 
second, to weed out the vice that Is In man. At the 
present time the opponents of Christianity hold that 
in an advanced civilization Christianity must give 
place to philosophy. They claim that philosophy 
teaches the only real way of making men good, and 
that the good effects of Christianity are to be attrib- 



CHRISTS METHOD AND PHILOSOPHERS' METHOD 17i 

uted to the truths of moral philosophy, blending in a 
system in which there is more or less of superstition^ 
and that the world in its progress is leaving the 
superstitions behind, and that consequently Christian- 
ity will finally be displaced by a rightly devised 
scheme of ethics. 

2. A comparison of Christ's method with the 
philosopher's method may help us to understand 
both better. 

(1) Christ, through his apostles, formed an in- 
stitution which he called his church, and this is 
radical and fundamental in his scheme of redemp- 
tion. This word "church" is used interchangeably 
with the word ''kingdom" or the phrase 'kingdom of 
heaven." He instituted a solemn ordinance — baptism — 
which was at once a rite of initiation and a condition 
of pardon. It was the consummating act in a process 
that inducted the individual into his church or king- 
dom and gave him the promise of pardon and 
acceptance with God. This rite he made obligatory 
on all. He established a common feast as a reminder 
of himself, and especially of his death for the sins 
of the many, and thus of the indissoluble union 
believers have in him. To unite men in a church 
by the strongest possible ties, he considered vitally 
important. He urged unity and the closest fraternal 
fellowship. Divisions were condemned. If neces- 
sary, every other tie must be dissolved before this. 
This church took Its name from Christ, and he was 
the king, ruling with absolute authority. Now com- 
pare this with anything else the world has seen. 
No school of philosophy bears any resemblance to 
this. The teaching of ethics needs no society. Some 
have imagined that there is a resemblance between 



172 THE KING OF KINGS 

the Christian Church or local congregation, and the 
schools of philosophy, thus making Christianity but 
one of the many schools, but there is no basis for 
such a view. It is true that philosophical societies 
were formed, and these societies lasted a long time 
under various names. But these existed for mere 
convenience. The society constituted no part of the 
system. The teacher had to deliver instruction 
orally, and hence any plan that would bring the 
pupils together was a wise expedient. After the 
great diffusion of books took place, philosophers 
ceased to form societies. Such expedients at once 
became unnecessary. The philosophic method now 
seeks to produce conviction in the minds of isolated 
individuals by published writings, and no organiza- 
tion is necessary to the accomplishment of the pur- 
pose sought. No philosopher to-day forms a society; 
it is wholly unnecessary. 

(2) Philosophy depends wholly upon its subject- 
matter; that is, upon reasoning, upon the statement 
and acceptance of abstract truth. Christ depends 
greatly upon his personality. In fact, he magnified 
his own personality and held it up as the essential 
thing. The philosopher seeks to sink his own per- 
sonality. He wishes his argument or truth to do 
all and his authority to count for nothing. He 
trains men to pursue a method that will discover 
truth within certain limits, and which may be used 
by anybody. With Christ, however, personal au- 
thority was primary, and argument entirely sec- 
ondary. In fact, he did not lay down premises, and 
reason from the known to the unknown, but he 
stated truth dogmatically upon his own authority. 
He continually exalted himself. "Who do men say I 



CHRISTS METHOD AND PHILOSOPHERS' METHOD 173 

am?" This was the paramount issue. He claimed 
superiority over all other men. The philosopher 
belittles himself; Christ exalted himself to the 
highest authority and to universal royalty. The 
Christ method is consistent v^ith the claim of 
divinity, and only on that ground is it justifiable. 
Divinity is the only plea that will save Christ from 
the charge of egotism. ''Without me ye can do 
nothing." Such a statement would have over- 
whelmed in shame and confusion any one but Jesus 
Christ. 

(3) The same contrast appears in the require- 
ments made of the followers of each respectivel3^ The 
philosophers care nothing for what their disciples 
think of them personally. They care simply for the 
triumph of the system. On the contrary, Christ 
laid great stress on personal attachments to himself. 
*Tf ye love me, keep my commandments." ''Simon, 
son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" "He that hath my 
commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth 
me." The radical difference between Christ and all 
philosophers now becomes apparent. Christ was a 
great teacher. He said, "I am the light of the 
world," but merely intellectual light was not the 
whole idea with Christ, nor even the most important 
idea. In his view of the case the dynamic power of 
truth lay in the advocate, or rather in the incarna- 
tion of the truth. The philosophers seek to deal with 
the head simply. Their influence is merely an intel- 
lectual one. Christ knew too well what was in man 
to rest the cause there. Light is good, but more than 
philosophic truth is needed. There must be example. 
Here, then, is found the difference between Christ 
and the philosophers. Philosophy seeks to cure the 

(13) 



174 THE KING OF KINGS 

vices of human nature by working upon the head ; 
Christ seeks to secure the same result by educating 
the heart as well as the head. Philosophers may 
explain what is right, but Christ says that is not 
sufficient, man must be disposed to do the right. 
Wrong actions spring from two causes — wrong ideas 
and wrong impulses — and Christ seeks to cure the 
wrong disposition as well as to correct the false 
notions. 

(4) Christ's method undertakes to solve a prob- 
lem that no philosopher was ever wise enough to 
even discover ; that is, to control the heart. What 
matters it to show men the right if they are not 
disposed to do it ; that is, if their desires and im- 
pulses are wrong? Men will follow their impulses 
rather than their heads. Some system is needed to 
beget the right impulse. Christ sees the trouble and 
undertakes to solve the difficulty. What is his 
method? Christ says the first step is a strong per- 
sonal attachment. Let a man be drawn forward and 
upward by love for another, and this other a person 
of striking and conspicuous goodness ; in fact, of ab- 
solute perfection. Let a man vow obedience to such 
an one. Let him be closely linked with others who 
have made such a vow. Thus will he be saved for 
time and eternity. Philosophers seek the individual 
man. They deal with men as isolated units. Chris- 
tianity, it is true, seeks the individual, but it abhors 
isolation. It gathers men into companies bound 
together by a tie that unites them to a living head. 
Thus every man has constantly before him an 
example of what he may become ! What then is the 
philosopher's purpose? To teach men the right. 
What next? To depend on them to do it by cool 



CHRIST'S METHOD AND PHILOSOPHERS' METHOD 175 

determination — by a sheer exercise of will-power. 
What does Christianity purpose? To teach men the 
right? Yes, far more. It purposes to create in man 
an all-consuming passion, as the necessary impulse 
to lead men to do right. 

That philosophy is wrong is proven by the fact 
that it has utterly failed to accomplish the task it 
has undertaken. Some illustrations will help us. 
Why does the patriot face the cannon's mouth? The 
philosophic answer is, "He knows what is right, and 
has decided to do it." That will not account for 
the sacrifice. Love is the explanation. He loves his 
country, and is, therefore, ready to die for it. W^hy 
does the parent toil for the child? Philosophy 
answers that it is cool determination to perform a 
recognized duty, but this does not account for it. 
Love is the true explanation. It is a heart matter 
rather than a head matter. 

How does it happen that the Galilean Peasant 
solved the problem that has baffled all philosophers? 
Here is the answer, "He knew what was in man." 
He who made man knew best the secret of his won- 
derful mechanism. 

Philosophy laid no contribution upon heart power, 
because it recognized no such power. It dealt exclu- 
sively with the head. Christianity made much of 
the heart, because here are the mainsprings of 
action. Christ taught that both evil and good pro- 
ceeded from the heart. The Christian idea is that 
''with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." 
The difference is radical, and is founded on a pro- 
found knowledge of man. 

II. The teaching of Christ stands as an unan- 
swerable proof of his divinity. 



176 THE KING OF KINGS 

1. The subject-matter is far superior to any pos- 
sible product of the human mind. The Sermon on 
the Mount is of itself sufhcient to establish Christ's 
claim to divinity. The echoes of that sermon have 
never died out. It has been the wonder and admira- 
tion of the greatest minds in all the ages that have 
intervened. In its profundity, in its suggestiveness, 
in its simplicity, in its purity of sentiment, in its 
deep spirituality, in its comprehensiveness, in its ma- 
jestic sweep, in its practical bearings upon life, it 
stands unapproached by anything man has ever 
uttered or will ever be able to speak. Socrates said 
that the teacher that must come must be more than 
a man that he may teach things impossible for man 
to know. The teaching of Jesus meets this require- 
ment in the most satisfactory way. Christ boldly 
pushes out into the field beyond the ken of unaided 
human vision, and talks with as much calmness, con- 
fidence and assurance as a professor in mathematics 
would assume in discoursing upon the most elemen- 
tary principles of his science. 

2. Christ's method of teaching is as grand and 
peculiar as is the matter of his teaching. 

(1) He is dogmatic to the last degree. If he 
were divine he must be dogmatic. Inductive and 
deductive methods are proper for the man who 
has to reason from the known to the unknown, but 
for ''God manifest in the flesh" the dogmatic method 
is the only reasonable method. There is a tendency 
in all minds to search for ultimate truth. They 
reason, investigate, strive to know. They seek the 
ultimate facts. Christ uttered wonderful truth, yet 
he never seemed to search. He did not reason from 
the known to the unknown, but leaped at once to the 



CHRIST'S METHOD OF TEACHING 177 

ultimate truth, and never doubted the accuracy of 
his knowledge. He spoke dogmatically and with 
great assurance, ''It has been said," . . . ''But I 
say unto you." "He taught as one having authority." 

(2) He was absolutely extemporaneous. His 
utterances were flashed forth instantaneously. No 
questions were ever so hard that he needed to ask 
time to consider. When men tried to entrap him 
or puzzle him with hard questions, he instantly 
flashed forth the answer that never had to be re- 
called or amended. 

(3) His method was the very perfection of sim- 
plicity. Mighty truths that almost stagger the 
greatest minds were couched in such simple language 
and presented in such a marvelously simple manner 
that a child can grasp them. It is said that "the 
common people heard him gladly," and when we 
read Christ's wonderful teaching presented in such 
plain, unpretentious style we readily understand why 
this was so. 

(4) His method was also illustrative. He em- 
ployed wonderful parables. In this Christ stands as 
the master. No such parables have ever been writ- 
ten as those recorded by the biographers of Christ. 

(5) He also reduced everything to actual practice 
before the very eyes of men. Not the least of Christ's 
instruction lay in what he did. Christianity can 
never be divorced from the Christ life. In this re- 
spect it differs from all philosophic systems. What 
Socrates says, what Bacon says, are the important 
matters. The system does not depend upon the life, 
but upon the utterances of the philosopher. Christ's 
life was the light of men. Christianity rests upon a 
personality and not upon an abstraction. Herein 
Christ's method far overtops all human methods. 



178 THE KING OF KINGS 

3. Christ's teaching, as exhibited both in word 
and deed, is characterized by entire freedom from 
mistakes. Who has ever taught that did not have to 
take back or amend something? To speak the final 
word on any subject requires absolute and perfect 
knowledge. If there be any unexplored corners, any 
side of the question not examined, any relation of a 
truth not understood, our final word may have to be 
amended, but Christ's utterances were always hnal, 
which implies perfect knowledge, which in turn im- 
plies divinity. 

Christ's deeds, which are really his masterpieces 
of knowledge^ are characterized by the same perfec- 
tion that attaches to his utterances. The strongest 
calcium light of criticism failed to show any defect 
or flaw in Christ's words or deeds, unless they have 
been dragged from their true relations and attendant 
circumstances and events, or condemned in disregard 
of some of the important factors bearing on the 
problem in hand. 

4. Christ's teaching is also characterized by its 
universality. The Saviour of all men must be able 
to speak to all men. *'God manifest in the flesh" 
must be able to address himself to all his children. 
In this respect Christ meets the demand. He speaks 
to the universal heart. The Sermon on the Mount 
may be preached from every mountain in the world, 
and the people in the valley will hear it and respond. 
No other teacher was ever able to do this. Some 
speak with power to one class, some to another, but 
none but Christ can speak with power to all men. 
The world has seen great teachers, who have been 
able to speak to individuals or classes or races or 
nationalities, but the world has never seen but one uni- 



CHRIST'S METHOD OF TEACHING 179 

versal teacher who spoke with equal power to all 
men. 

5. Christ's teaching was also exceedingly prac- 
tical. This, after all, is the supreme test. If he fail 
here, all is lost. No impractical theorist can ever live 
growingly among men, much less lay claim to divine 
wisdom. Some say Christ's teaching is ideal or fan- 
ciful, and hence impractical. Some say Christ's 
teaching is purely theoretical and unsuited to actual 
conditions as we find them. Some say that it is 
romantic and visionary, and hence can not be applied 
to life as we must necessarily live it in this intensely 
practical ■ world. I know of no better reply to all 
this than simply to look at the answer Christ's own 
life gives when placd beside his doctrines. 

(1) Take, for example, his doctrine as to the 
value of the soul. He taught that the soul is the 
most valuable thing in all the world. "What would 
it profit if a man should gain the whole world and 
lose his own soul?" That simply means that the in- 
dividual soul placed in one side of the balance weighs 
more than the whole world placed in the other. To 
lose the former and gain the latter would be to lose all. 
Does His practice agree with his teaching? See his 
treatment of the fallen Samaritan woman. A woman 
who had had five husbands, and was then living 
with a man who was not her husband — so fallen that 
you and I would scarcely dare to recognize such an 
one on the street, yet when she came to Jacob's well 
to draw water, Jesus, though hungry and thirsty, 
preached to her one of the most wonderful sermons 
that ever fell from his lips. Consider his dealings 
with the adulterous woman who was brought into 
his presence. "Let him that is without sin cast the 



180 THE KING OF KINGS 

first stone," is his reply to her accusers. Then with 
godlike sympathy and benignity he says, "Neither 
do I condemn thee, go, sin no more." Every human 
soul, apart from all adventitious circumstances, was 
the great thing, as shown by his treatment of men. 

(2) Take another of His hardest doctrines, ''Bless 
them that persecute you, and pray for them that 
despitefully use you." Can this doctrine be put into 
practice, is the interesting question. Men say, "No." 
But Christ says, "Yes," and demonstrates its prac- 
ticability. We read that when he was reviled, he 
reviled not again. When he was persecuted he 
threatened not. He also said to the disciples, "Pray 
for them that despitefully use you." "Love your 
enemies." Did he do it, or are these the utterances 
of an impractical dreamer? Listen! When suffering 
in the agonies of the cross, he said, "Father, forgive 
them, they know not what they do." "O Jerusalem, 
Jerusalem," the city that had rejected him and heaped 
indignity upon him, "thou that killest the prophets 
and stonest them I sent unto thee, how often would 
I have gathered thy children together, even as a 
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye 
would not." 

Pick out the hardest "doctrine that Christ ever 
taught, that his critics claim is most visionary, most 
impractical, and I will show you that Christ put this 
doctrine into actual practice in his own life in the 
fullest way. There was absolutely no disparity be- 
tween his theory and his practice, and it should also 
be kept in mind that Christ's precepts embodied in 
life make the ideal man — husband, father, citizen — in 
short, man in all his relations to the world, and the 
very best men in the world to-day are the men who 



THE COMPOSURE OF CHRIST 181 

incorporate most fully Christ's teaching in their own 
lives. 

6. There is a composure about Christ in all he 
says and does that is superhuman. When a really 
great thought is born in the mind, or when some 
new application or relation of truth has been dis- 
covered, there is a thrill of excitement and ecstasy 
produced in the soul. Christy however, utters orig- 
inal truths of the most sublime and momentous 
character, with the utmost composure. It almost sets 
the soul on fire to receive at second hand the Sermon 
on the Mount, the story of the prodigal, or Christ's 
intercessory prayer. What would have been the in- 
tellectual excitement of the man in whose mind these 
wonderful thoughts were for the first time born? 
It is related of Sir Isaac Newton that he was thrown 
into the intensest excitement, and completely over- 
whelmed by emotion, when by mathematical calcu- 
lation it was demonstrated that he had discovered 
the great law that controls the heavenly bodies; but 
Jesus, in uttering the greatest truths, is as calm and 
serene as a May morning. This simply shows that 
known unto him were all things from before the 
foundation of the world. Had Sir Isaac Newton 
made the worlds and hung them in their orbits, he 
would not have been excited in speaking of their 
controlling laws. Jesus, by whom all things were 
made, can speak calmly when uttering the greatest 
truths that it has ever been man's good fortune to 
hear. 

III. The divinity of Christ is impressively shown 
by the superiority of his purpose to all human pur- 
poses. 

1. In its greatness it transcends everything 



182 THE KING OF KINGS 

human, just as the infinite transcends the finite. 
Napoleon, in a speech at St. Helena, contrasted the 
work of himself, Caesar and Alexander with that of 
Christ. His conclusion is summed up in these words : 
"I know men, and I tell you that the resemblance 
between Jesus Christ and the founders of great em- 
pires and the gods of other religions does not exist. 
There is between Christianity and whatever other 
religion the distance of infinity." Take the greatest 
of human purposes, that of a great conqueror or of a 
great philanthropist — of a Howard, or a Wilberforce, 
or a Booth — and the purpose of Jesus swallows them 
all up like the ocean swallows up the mightiest 
rivers, like God's great sky swallows up the stars. 

The moral and spiritual renovation of the race, 
the regeneration of man, and the enlisting of the 
universal heart of man in a love enduring for time 
and eternity, such as will lift man up to the God 
plane, and make him a worthy companion of unfallen 
spirits, such a purpose is a proof that he was divine. 
It is not only worthy of God, but is only possible 
with God. Even after God thinks it man can but im- 
perfectly grasp it. 

2. The originality of Christ's purpose is as won- 
derful as its greatness. Originality is a very rare 
tiling. We are conscious that for the most part 
we are only handing forward in new form that which 
has come to us. Even when we think we have an 
original idea we can never be sure. There is a great 
deal that floats in upon us from the intellectual at- 
mosphere around us that we are unconscious oL 
Sometimes a secondary idea comes in with another 
on which the mind may be chieflv fixed, and we are 
scarcely conscious of the secondary thought. Who 



SUPERIORITY OF CHRIST'S PURPOSE 183 

shall be able to say what is absolutely original with 
himself, and what is not? 

The design of Jesus to establish a kingdom of 
souls, a universal, all-pervading kingdom, a king- 
dom as real as any kingdom that ever existed, is 
strictly an original idea. He was not enriched by a 
single thought from any source. Neither Zoroaster 
nor Confucius nor the philosophers of Athens con- 
tributed aught to him. In Nazareth, a secluded spot, 
removed from all possible contact with the thought 
of his age, he grew to manhood, then came forth and 
announced his godlike purpose. And even had he 
come in contact with all the philosophers and 
philosophies of the world, he would have found 
nothing similar to^ much less identical with, his 
wonderful plan and purpose. No one ever dreamed 
of a universal religion. It was new, perfectly orig- 
inal with Christ. 

IV. Christ's divinity is shown by the originality 
of his method. 

The originality of this method is no less striking 
than the originality of His purpose. 

1. He did not use force. No other founder of 
empires ever dared to throw force aside. Napoleon 
said, ''Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and m.yself 
founded empires, but upon what did we rest the 
creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus alone 
founded his empire on love, and at this hour millions 
of men would die for him." Christ's symbol was a 
cross, not a sword. When Peter drew his sword 
Christ said, "Put up your sword. They that take 
the sword shall perish by the sword." He taught 
men, when smitten, to turn the other cheek. 

2. He did not depend on enlisting men through 



184 THE KING OF KINGS 

hope of temporal aggrandizement. Other great 
leaders have tried to enlist the wealthy. Others have 
promised money or emolument of some kind to 
induce men to follow them. Jesus set no value on 
these things. He said, ''You shall have scourging, 
.buffeting, persecution, yea, even death." He said to 
the rich young man, "Sell all you have and give it to 
the poor." He said, "It is easier for a camel to go 
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to 
enter the kingdom of God." 

3. He did not select the worldly great men. A 
weak man may sometimes give a strong administra- 
tion by calling to his support great men. Napoleon 
said, "God fights on the side of the heavy artillery." 
Christ selected not the wise or great men as his 
cabinet, but rather humble, obscure men from the 
lowly walks of life. 

Was ever method so unique, so opposed to all 
the methods adopted by men who have undertaken 
to establish empires or to accomplish great things 
requiring the co-operation of men? It has no par- 
allel. It is strikingly original and worthy of a divine 
author. May we not say, therefore, that the great- 
ness and originality of Christ's method stamps him 
as divine? 

4. He was perfectly fearless in his advocacy of 
truth, and in his denunciation of wrong. He never 
sacrificed principle for policy. He condemned the 
wickedness of the great and small alike. He de- 
nounced the hypocrisy of the Pharisees at his own 
personal peril. He never withheld the truth because 
it was unpopular, nor failed to denounce error because 
it was popular. He did not seek to avoid criticism or 
win favor by catering to popular prejudices. He paid 



ORIGINALITY OF CHRIST'S METHOD 185 

small respect to the notions of the Pharisees concern- 
ing Sabbath observance, eating with unwashed hands, 
fasting and other traditions. He lodged with the pub- 
lican, allowed the sinful woman to bathe and anoint 
his feet and ate with sinners, thus showing his utter 
contempt for the narrow prejudices of his time. 

In conclusion, can we do better than to repeat 
the language of Paul? ''Without controversy, great 
is the mystery of godliness [or godlikeness]. He 
who was manifested in the flesh, justified in the 
spirit, seen of angels, preached among the nations, 
believed on in the world, received up into glory." 



CHAPTER XV. 

The Argument Based on Certain Striking Pecu- 
liarities that are Either Superhuman in 
Character, or are Necessary Corollaries 
Growing out of the Doctrine of 
His Divinity.* 

There are many incidents in the life of Christ 
recorded by his biographers that reveal views gov- 
erning principles and personal peculiarities that lift 
him above the plane of our common humanity. 
While he wore our nature and was the most human 
of all human beings, yet ever and anon, as we study 
the events of his life, we see flashes of divinity that 
are the more impressive by reason of their incidental 
and unstudied nature. I have selected a few specific 
examples of miscellaneous character, illustrating the 
fact just stated. These incidents have no logical 
connection, but they are none the less impressive 
on that account. 

I. Christ was able to lose all tier, of consan- 
guinity in the one great bond of brotherhood. 

1. It need not be argued that family ties con- 
stitute the strongest bonds that unite human beings 
in this life, nor are these ties to be condemned, since 
they are perfectly natural and are productive of most 

* "The Human Race," a volume by F. W. Robertson, has 
furnished helpful material for this chapter; also, Parker's 
"People's Bible," volume on Matthew, has been of much service. 
186 



CONSANGUINITY LOST IN BROTHERHOOD 187 

beneficenf fruits in our social life. The misfortune 
is not in loving those bound to us by ties of the 
flesh too much, but in allowing all of our heart 
powers, and, per consequence, our efforts and ener- 
gies, to be consumed and expended on this narrow 
and local circle. In this way, the debt we owe to 
our common humanity remains unpaid, while more 
is done for those near to us in the flesh oftentimes 
than makes for their good. In this respect Christ 
shows a breadth of nature and feeling that is truly 
wonderful. I here call attention to an incident 
recorded in Matt. 12 : 46-50 : ''While he was yet speak- 
ing to the m.altitude, behold, his mother and his 
bretliren stood without seeking to speak to him. 
And one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy 
brethren stand without, seeking to speak to thee. 
But he answered and said unto him that told him, 
Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And 
he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and 
said, Behold, my mother and my brethren ! For 
whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in 
heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother." 
2. It is impossible to think that Christ was in- 
different to natural ties. He had all the tenderness 
for his mother that a noble, sensitive nature could 
feel. This he manifested on more occasions than 
one, and notably when he was suffering on the cross. 
He was also closely attached to John, his disciple 
and brother in the flesh. We may not, therefore, 
suppose that Christ was abnormal as regards fleshly 
ties. To understand such language as Christ here 
used, we must take into account the spirit of the 
speaker and his wonderful enthusiasm for humanity. 
Wliile he was a loving son and brother, he was 



188 THE KING OF KINGS 

infinitely more. His great nature overflowed all 
narrow boundaries. All family ties were swallowed 
up in the grandeur and glory of a larger, broader 
love such as the Creator might feel for his creature. 
His soul felt its kinship to universal humanity, and 
especially to that portion that honored its divine 
origin by moving in harmony with the Father's will. 
If Christ were God manifest in the flesh, then such 
language can be readily comprehended ; otherwise it 
stands as a mystery. In Christ's great divine love 
for men, all other relationships were lost ; not that 
he loved mother or brother less, but that he loved 
the Father's loyal children more. It is easy to pass 
over such incidents as this lightly and with small 
consideration, but when properly viewed, herein lurks 
the doctrine of Christ's divinity. 

3. This conception of larger relationship cropped 
out all along Christ's wonderful life. It began to 
show itself long before he entered upon his public 
ministry, as one little glimpse given of him shows. 
When he was twelve years old, he got lost from his 
parents, and was finally found in the temple, dis- 
coursing with the lawyers and doctors. When 
chided by his mother, he replied, "Knowest thou not 
that I must be about my Father's business?" He 
even then realized a larger relationship than the 
fleshly tie. This ability, or rather largeness of 
nature, enabled him to keep all ties in their proper 
relation to each other, and set them in their true 
perspective. In view of such godlike breadth of 
feeling, how little we poor mortals look ! We allow 
ourselves to be divided up into sects and clans and 
fraternities and nations and races, and thus lose con- 
sciousness of the universal brotherhood of man. 



CHRIST'S RELATION TO HUMANITY 189 

4. Christ announced his true relation to the 
human family, and herein he sets up for us the 
highest ideal : ''Whosoever shall do the will of my 
Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and 
sister and mother." It is not a question of race or 
nationality or pedigree or worldly condition or cir- 
cumstance. Here is my chance and yours. The way 
to become Christ's close relation is to do the will 
of the Father, and this means to be Christ's disciple 
and follower. The poor, obscure, despised man or 
woman may be the close relation of the Master. But 
what about the bearing of all this as between man 
and man? Is it not evident that here we may get 
our standing toward each other? Did I hear some 
one say Christianity divides men? Then I answer 
it is a counterfeit. The Christianity of Christ and 
his apostles never divides men. On the contrary, it 
makes all men close akin. Whenever religion divides 
men it is not Christian in its character. Listen to^ 
the Master, ''Neither pray I for these alone, but for 
all those that believe on me through their word, that 
they all may be one," Listen to Paul, "Whereas 
there are divisions among you, are ye not carnal and 
walk as men?" Again, "Whether one member suf- 
fers, all suffer. Whether one member rejoices, all 
rejoice." Christianity aims to join all who do the 
will of the Father in a brotherhood whose ties are 
stronger than those of the flesh. We are not isolated 
individuals, but parts of a great company of which 
Christ is the head. 

II. I next call attention to Christ's wonderful 
penetration as shown in his dealings with assemblies 
and individuals.* 



* "Servant of All," Parker, pp. 33-38. 
(14) 



190 THE KING OF KINGS 

Matt. 8 : 18-22 furnishes instances illustrative of 
this deep insight of Christ : "Now when Jesus saw 
great multitudes about him he gave commandment 
to depart unto the other side. And there came a 
scribe and said unto him, Teacher, I will follow thee 
whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, 
The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven 
have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to 
lay his head. And another of the disciples said unto 
him. Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 
But Jesus said unto him, Follow me and leave the 
dead to bury their own dead." As we study these 
cases, we can only account for Christ's actions on 
the ground of his keen penetration. We poor mor- 
tals must be content with looking at the outside for 
the most part, but' Christ's eye penetrated to the 
inmost recess of the soul. In our surface views 
Christ's actions seem strange and even inconsistent, 
and it is only as the inner nature of the case is 
comprehended that Christ's conduct is justified in 
our minds. 

1. Christ's deep penetration is seen in his dealing 
with multitudes. "When he saw great multitudes 
about him he gave commandment to depart to the 
other side ;" that is, to leave the multitude. Now 
we may very naturally ask why. Is not the gather- 
ing of the multitude just what Christ needed? He 
came to teach and to heal. A multitude offers the 
occasion for the accomplishment of his work, yet 
it is assigned as the reason for going away. It was 
not so on other occasions : "And seeing the multitudes 
he went up into the mountain, and when he had sat 
down his disciples came unto him, and he opened his 
mouth and taught them, saying." . . . "And the 



CHRIST'S DEALING WITH MULTITUDES 191 

multitudes were astonished at his doctrine." Wherein 
lay the ground of difference of treatment of these 
two multitudes? It can not be ascribed to indiffer- 
ence or lack of interest in the one case. He never 
lost an opportunity. No hungry inquirer was ever 
turned away. It can not be ascribed to a desire to 
spare himself. He was never too tired or hungry 
or thirsty to turn away from a needy soul, as is 
shown by his treatment of the woman at Jacob's 
well. Instead of trying to find the reason in Christ, 
the cause may be found in the multitude. Doubt- 
less, they were mere curiosity hunters. They wanted 
entertainment or amusement. Christ looked upon 
them and saw their real character. He doubtless 
said within himself, "For such people I can do 
nothing. This is not a hungry multitude, and con- 
sequently they can not be fed." Therefore, he said, 
''Depart to the other side." It was not the crowd, 
as such, that Christ wanted, but the needy multitude 
conscious of its want. Even on the cross he could 
not resist the appeal of a needy soul. 

Doubtless we are prone to make a mistake at this 
point. We are anxious to draw' the multitude and 
resort to all manner of devices to secure the crowd, 
and when we succeed we congratulate ourselves and 
boast of our achievement. We may make a great 
mistake just here. I disparage not the multitude; 
it is to be desired ; the greater the multitude the 
greater the opportunity, other things being eciual, 
but when we draw a multitude that comes for amuse- 
ment or entertainment, worse than nothing has been 
accomplished. From such a multitude Christ would 
depart. 

2. Christ's deep penetration is shown in his deal- 



192 THE KING OF KINGS 

ing with an apparently enthusiastic admirer and 
willing follower. A scribe came to him and said, 
''Teacher, I will follow thee whithersoever thou 
goest." We can conceive of nothing more admirable. 
Unsolicited, he makes an unreserved promise. There 
seems to be nothing wanting in such a promise. 
How would the most gifted and observing human 
leader have met such an overture? We must cer- 
tainly say, with open arms. Now notice the answer 
of Christ: ''The foxes have holes^ and the birds of 
the heaven have nests, but the Son of man hath not 
where to lay his head." It seems to be a very cold, 
discouraging answer. Certainly it was not in keep- 
ing with many of Christ's utterances. "Come unto 
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest." "Him that cometh to me I will in 
no wise cast out." There is certainly a marked con- 
trast between these utterances and his answer to the 
ardent scribe. Here is a matter for explanation. 
We must certainly see that Christ always gave the 
answer needed and his deep penetration enabled him 
to know what the answer should be. He looked 
beneath the surface and doubtless saw in the scribe a 
typical man of a certain class ; namely, blind enthu- 
siasts, easily carried away by the latest novelty and 
ready to plunge headlong into almost any enterprise 
without counting the cost. He said in effect, I have 
nothing in the way of rewards or emoluments to offer. 
Look on the dark side as well as on the bright side 
before you start. We hear nothing more of this im- 
pulsive man. The moment the dark side was pre- 
sented, he was gone. Truly this was a marvelous 
Teacher. "Never man spake as this man," because, for 
one reason, never man saw as deeply as he saw into the 



CHRIST'S DEALINGS WITH INDIVIDUALS 193 

realities of things. Christ never spoke discouragingly 
to those already looking on the dark side. He said 
to the despondent disciples, "Let not your heart be 
troubled," "I go to prepare a place for you." Not a 
word about having no place to lay his head in this 
instance. To the worldly-minded he says, "Lay not 
up for 3^ourselves treasures on earth." To those 
borne down with conscious poverty and lack of 
worldly prospects he says, "In my Father's house 
are many mansions." When we see these evidences 
of matchless skill, we get new meaning from the 
words, "If any man thirst, let him come to me^and 
drink." "I am the light of the world." 

3. Christ's wonderful penetration is shown in 
his treatment of one who professed to feel a deep 
parental obligation. On the same occasion, ap- 
parently, another said unto him, "Lord, suffer me 
first to go and bury my father," but Jesus said unto 
him, "Follow thou me, and leave the dead to bury 
their dead." In reading this answer of the Master, we 
feel that this^ like the previous answer, is scarcely 
characteristic of the Master. Could there be a more 
tender, filial plea, "Suffer me first to go and bury 
my father"? We are ready to say, "Certainly, by 
all means ; that is not only fitting, but a bounden 
duty." Did Christ have no appreciation for such a 
sentiment nor sympathy for such a service? Believe 
it not. He who remembered and provided for his 
mother in the dying agonies of the cross, knew what 
filial affection was. Here again we must look be- 
neath the surface to get at the essence of the cir- 
cumstance. Doubtless this man, like the other, was 
typical of a class. Some men can never get ready 
to do the thing that is demanded. They have some- 



194 THE KING OF KINGS 

thing else that invariably crowds in and sets aside 
the imperative duty. How often we have seen this ! 
The appeal comes to follow Christ. ''Certainly," the 
individual says, "I will follow him. I am making 
my plans to do so. It is the fitting thing, but suffer 
me first to get rich." Another says, "Suffer me 
first to get pleasure." Another says, 'T am coming, 
but I have a very pressing matter that comes in 
first." To all such temporizing people, Christ says. 
No. ''Follow me." Now is the accepted time. To- 
morrow may be too late. Christian service is earnest, 
imperative, nothing can take precedence. Christ 
puts the matter in the strongest light. Nothing could 
be stronger than this man's case, but Christ says. 
No. "Follow me," and in so doing, he answers every 
possible excuse for delay. Nothing but the ability 
to penetrate into deepest recesses of the soul and 
read the characteristic peculiarities of men, idiosyn- 
crasies perhaps unknown to the individuals them- 
selves, can explain these answers of Christ. 

4. One more case^ which is recorded in Mark 
10: 17-22, must suffice under this head. As Jesus 
was passing along, a young man ran to him, and, 
kneeling, said, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that 
I may inherit eternal life?" Jesus repeated to him 
certain commandments to be obeyed, but he replied, 
"All these things have I observed from my youth." 
Now comes the remarkable part. The record says, 
"And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him., and said 
unto him^ One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatso- 
ever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt 
have treasure in heaven : and come, follow me." The 
young man went away sorrowful. This young man 
evidently had many good points ; he had great 



CHRIST'S DEALINGS WITH INDIVIDUALS 195 

respect for Christ ; he knew that eternal life depended 
on doing good things ; he had faith in Christ's ability 
to teach him ; he had a desire to be better than he 
was ; he w'as docile and teachable ; his external mo- 
rality was faultless, and he had the appreciation of 
Christ. This shows that a man may have . many 
good qualities and still lack the one great, essential, 
determining quality, without which salvation is im- 
possible. Here we run against a great law. There 
is always a determining characteristic that fixes the 
place a. given thing shall occupy ; between the veg- 
etable and the mineral, the animal and the plant, the 
man and the brute, there is a determining factor. 
An object in" a lower kingdom may have many quali- 
ties of the next higher kingdom, but if it lack one 
thing it must remain in the lower kingdom ; having 
that one thing, it can take its place in the kingdom 
above. Christ teaches that this law holds good 
between the natural and the spiritual realm. Here, 
then, we have another example of Christ's wonderful 
penetration. In this seemingly admirable young 
man, having so many good qualities that Jesus loved 
him in a peculiar wa}^, there was one dark plague- 
spot that shut him out from the kingdom above. 
Christ saw it. Do you ask, how? By his divine 
insight into the deepest hidden nature of men. ''He 
knew what was in man." With matchless skill he 
pointed to the difficulty, *'Go, sell all that thou hast, 
and give to the poor." With all his good quali- 
ties, the young man loved the things of this world 
too much. He had great possessions, and could not 
part with them even for the boon of eternal life. 
This love of riches was the thing that stood in his 
way. This must be rooted out, and he could not 



196 THE KING OF KINGS 

Stand the test. Does some one ask, is this always 
the determining thing? By no means. Some do 
not care for riches ; such would find no trouble in 
complying with such a requirement, but maybe 
there is some other desire or love that stands between 
the soul and heaven ; appetite, love of popularity, 
love of power, or some other peculiar characteristic 
may be the thing that must be gotten rid of. Christ's 
answer would be determined by the necessity of the 
case. The argument we are setting forth lies in 
Christ's ability immediately and extempore to look 
at a case and see the individual part that needed cor- 
rection, and point it out in a masterly, convincing 
way and with unerring certainty. 

III. Christ declared that honors and distinctions 
are conferred in the heavenly world upon the eternal 
principles of justice and righteousness that are recog- 
nized and operative in this world. 

This simply means that right principles do not 
change in their nature or application in passing from 
this world to the next. It will at once be observed 
that the ability to speak of the principles of action 
and rules of government that obtain in the future 
world is a necessary corollary growing out of his 
claim to divinity, and consequently a most natural 
thing under all the circumstances. Such facts as this 
constitute what may be termed the natural har- 
monies of the New Testament record, which, unfor- 
tunately, are often overlooked. 

In Matt. 20 : 20-23 we have a very interesting and 
suggestive circumstance recorded, which is told best 
in the language of the sacred writer.* 



* See Robertson's sermon in "Human Race and Other 
Sermons." 



THE AMBITIOUS WOMAN 19T 

"Then came to him the mother of the sons of 
Zebedee with her sons, worshipping him, and asking 
a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What 
wouldest thou? She saith unto him. Command that 
these' my two sons may sit, one on thy right liand, 
and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom. But 
Jesus answered and said. Ye know not what ye ask. 
Are ye able to drink the cup that I am about to 
drink? They say unto him, We are able. He saith 
unto them, My cup indeed ye shall drink: but to 
sit on my right hand, and on my left hand, is not 
mine to give; but it is for them for whom it hath 
been prepared of my Father." 

1. It may be helpful first to notice three mis- 
takes made by this woman and her ambitious sons. 
They entertained a common, but nevertheless wrong, 
idea regarding the life to be lived in the coming 
kingdom. With them it was purely a matter of 
honor and distinction. "Let these my two sons sit, 
the one on the right and the other on the left.'^ 
The idea of service was utterly overlooked. The 
rewards and honors occupied the chief place m their 
thoughts, a mistake that has endured through the 
ages and is very common even yet. In entering upon 
Christian life many think more about the rewards 
than they do about the obligations incurred. Christ 
said to these mistaken ones, "Ye know not what ye 
ask." 

These young men also miscalculated their own 
powers, another very common mistake with youn-^s 
people. It requires experience to teach us "what our 
shoulders are able to bear and what they refuse to 
bear," as Horace puts it. James and John were ready 
to take the chief places in the kingdom without con- 



198 THE KING OF KINGS 

sidering the fact that high position imposed great 
responsibihty and required great abihty, or, rather, 
they seemed to feel themselves entirely able to meet 
the duties of the position. They never asked, are 
we fit, are we qualified, are we prepared? Perhaps 
this side of the case did not present itself to them. 

We notice also a very boastful spirit in these 
3'oung men. Christ directed their minds to the mat- 
ter that they had overlooked. He said : "Are ye able 
to drink of the cup that I shall drink, and be bap- 
tized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" 
They reply, ''We are able." Little they knew of 
Christ's cup of sorrow and. baptism of suffering, yet 
they confidently professed to be able to undergo 
all. Christ simply said, in substance, experience will 
teach you what you can not know now. The lesson 
is this : High position requires great ability and 
preparation. It is through pain and suffering and 
trial that great lessons are learned. It is the man 
who wins his position, that honors it, not the one 
who has it conferred upon him by favoritism. 

2. It is interesting to notice that gradations in 
rank belong to the future world the same as to this 
world, and they are determined on the same prin- 
ciples that obtain here. Christ's answer clearly 
shows this. "Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and 
be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized 
with, but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, 
is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for 
whom it is prepared of my Father." This answer 
recognizes the fact that in the future world all will 
not stand on the same level. There are places of 
distinction. There is a right hand and a left hand 
place to be occupied. And why should not this~be 



RANK IN THE FUTURE WORLD 199 

true? There is gradation here in the world of matter 
and the world of mind, why not there? Will tjiis 
interfere with the happiness of men? Not if they 
are right-minded, as they will be there. Happiness, 
order, beauty, consists in each person occupying the 
place for which he is fitted by nature and traininp^. 
This is true here, and why not hereafter? Christ 
came down from heaven and knew the laws that 
obtain there, and declared that the law so familiar 
to us here holds good there. Does some one say, is 
not this reasoning in a circle? Do you not assume 
Christ's divinity to prove that he knew the laws and 
principles th^t hold good in heaven, and then use 
the fact that he knew those laws to prove that he 
was divine? I answer, No. You have not grasped 
the argument. Here is the point. Christ claimed to 
be divine, he claimed pre-existence, he claimed to 
have come down from heaven ; this declaration of 
laws that govern in heaven falls into line with his 
claim. It is one of the incidental harmonies that go 
to strengthen his claim. And the fact that there is 
gradation here, determined upon necessary princi- 
ples, goes to strengthen the doctrine that there is 
gradation there. 

3. It may not be amiss in closing this particular 
argument to notice the principle of gradation which 
Christ points out. The woman and her sons evi- 
dently thought rank in the future kingdom would be 
determined by arbitrary selection growing out of 
favoritism. This is the rule among men very often ; 
kings and emperors and presidents not infrequently 
pay political debts by giving men positions for 
which they are in nowise fitted. No wonder this 
woman and her sons made the mistake of supposing 



200 THE KING OF KINGS 

Christ would confer distinctions arbitrarily. Christ, 
however, answered, "The thing you ask is not mine 
to give." This evidently means that this is not a 
matter settled by the whim or caprice of any one, 
but a thing that is governed by law, "It shall be 
given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father;" 
and as the co-ntext shows, this means those who can 
drink the cup of Christ and be baptized with the 
baptism of Christ. In short, for those who can bear 
the cross. They asked for honor — Christ says each 
place of honor has its price. Can ye pay the price? 
Far-reaching, wonderful teaching, this, and yet withal 
very practical ; justified and vindicated by necessary 
principles operating even in this world. It is a fact 
running through earth and heaven that there are 
gradations in rank, and these are determined by 
ability to drink the necessary cup and be baptized 
with the appropriate baptism. Such is the will of 
the Father, as declared by Him who came down 
from heaven. 

IV. The inherent authority of Christ is a neces- 
sary fact growing out of his divinity, and conse- 
quently an incidental proof of his claim. 

How many signs of Lordship we see in Jesus. 
Incidentally his authority crops out in every part of 
the narrative concerning him. Those who have not 
had their minds directed to this point will be aston- 
ished at the authority Christ exercised, and which 
men recognized apparently as a matter of course, 
without scarcely knowing it, certainly without call- 
ing it in question. How came he to have such 
authority? Certainly it was not worldly circum- 
stance or pomp that gave it. He did not belong to 
the official or influential classes. He did not have 



THE INHERENT AUTHORITY OF CHRIST 201 

the prestige of wealth or social rank. He had no 
visible rewards to bestow, whence then his wonder- 
ful authority to which all who came into his presence 
were compelled to bow? A few specific examples 
will make this point clear. 

1. When He uttered the great Sermon on the 
Mount, which has come down through the ages, 
growing in power and influence, and exciting ever- 
increasing wonder, it is said, "The multitudes were 
astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as 
one having authority and not as the scribes." This 
is a very suggestive circumstance. Jesus had no 
authority conferred upon him ofhcially or by circum- 
stances. The scribes had conferred authority, yet 
Jesus had an authority they did not have. Here is 
the secret. Jesus had inherent authority, the au- 
thority of a great personality that could not be over- 
looked or mistaken. Conferred authority is a very 
poor thing indeed as compared to this. Inherent 
authority is possessed in some degree by all great 
characters, but it shines forth pre-eminent in Jesus 
of Nazareth. The commission of men or the badge 
of office can not confer real authority. If it is not 
inherent, no power can give it, in any real sense. 

2. On the occasion of the feeding of the multitude, 
Matthew very quietly says, "And he sent away the 
multitude," perhaps much easier said than done. He 
had drawn the multitude by his wonderful works ; 
they had lingered, apparently not heeding the de- 
mand of hunger. He had fed them, thus giving an 
additional reason for their lingering or refusing to 
go. Yet the narrative says, "He sent away the mul- 
titude." Could any one of the disciples have done it? 
May we not reasonably suppose there was a power 



202 THE KING OF KINGS 

and majesty in his bearing, an authority in his voice 
and manner that compelled obedience? 

3. On a certain occasion, when in his native city 
where the people whom he had grown up with lived, 
and where they despised him on the principle that 
'*No prophet is without honor save in his own coun- 
try and among his own people," his townsmen, on 
account of his claims, laid hold on him and hurried 
him to a precipice, ready to hurl him to destruction. 
Now happened the wonderful thing. The narrative 
says, "But he, passing through the midst of them, went 
his way." How, forsooth, could that have happened? 
Was he not entirely at their mercy? Having thrust 
him out of the city, could the}^ not cast him over the 
precipice? Must we not here make room for a flash of 
that dignity and authority which even the mob could 
not fail to respect? Jesus had not yet finished his 
work. The time to die had not yet arrived. When 
he faced destruction, by his inherent power and 
majesty he caused his persecutors to recoil, while 
he calmly went on his way. So far he permitted 
them to go, but when the limit was reached, they 
were powerless to go further. No one dared to lay 
hand on him, defenseless as he seemed to be. 

4. There is a little circumstance generally over- 
looked in reading the account of the scene in the 
garden at the time when Christ was apprehended. 
When the soldiers, led by Judas, came to take him, 
Jesus went forth and said, ''Whom seek ye? They 
answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto 
them, I am he." Now happened a strange thing; 
when Jesus said, 'T am he," they went backward and 
fell to the ground. Marvelous thing for a band of 
Roman soldiers to do. They could face death in any 



THE INHERENT AUTHORITY OF CHRIST 203 

form, no matter how terrible; could they not face a 
Galilean peasant without arms, without even a body- 
guard? How account for this except on the ground 
of an inherent dignity and authority such as the 
Roman soldiers never saw before? They had to be 
exhorted by the man to be arrested before they 
could perform their duty as soldiers. 

5. When he was before Pilate, he seemed to exer- 
cise a marvelous power over him. He said almost noth- 
ing, and yet the Roman judge seemed almost power- 
less in his presence. He had to be goaded by the 
taunts of the mob before he could pass sentence, and 
then it was done with the utmost reluctance and 
with a sickly show of escaping the responsibility. I 
confess I have always felt a bit of sympathy for 
Pilate. I presume, in the presence of this prisoner 
he felt weak indeed. He became the culprit in a 
sense, and the prisoner the judge. Well might he 
quail in such a situation. 

6. When nailed to the cross his inherent dignity 
and authority did not forsake him. As Rosseau says, 
"Socrates died like a philosopher, but Jesus Christ 
like a God." Blind prejudice and hatred, hurled on 
to madness by bitter passion, might fail to see it, but 
Roman soldiers, accustomed to such scenes, saw 
something in this victim and in the attending circum- 
stances, never witnessed before, and exclaimed : 
''Truly this was the Son of God." 

7. After Jesus had gone down into the grave, 
and by his inherent, divine power had opened the 
door from the inner side, he declared, "All authority 
hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth." 
This is the natural climax of all that goes before. 
It is perfectly harmonious with the whole situation,. 



204 THE KING OF KINGS 

as outlined by his biographers. There is no discord 
in the music, no lack of harmony. This carries with 
it divinity, for surely God would not confer all au- 
thority in heaven and on earth upon any one who 
was less than divine. Jesus was a mere man, does 
some one say? Perish the thought. Reason rejects 
the statement and common sense declares it to be 
false. Jesus was the Son of God ; this statement 
alone satisfies all the demands in the case. 

V. Christ made greatness to consist in some- 
thing that no one before his time, or since, unless 
influenced by his teaching, ever set forth as its true 
essence. 

This is the more remarkable since the thing that 
Christ declared to be the real patent of greatness has 
ever been considered as the badge of dishonor. It 
is only as the teaching of Christ and the consequent 
rising intelligence have lifted men up to a J)lane where 
they can see things in their true perspective that 
Christ's standard of greatness can be comprehended, 
but when once laid hold upon, it is seen to conform 
to a universal principle running through the material 
and spiritual worlds. 

1. On one occasion there arose a contention 
among the disciples as to who should be greatest. 
Jesus declared that he that would be great among 
them must be their servant, and that the greatest 
must be servant of all. This is a wonderful doc- 
trine. We imagine that there is something degrading 
connected with service, and many think that it is 
dishonorable to labor even when a man is his own 
master. Jesus entertained no such ideas. He girded 
himself with a towel and washed his disciples' feet, 
the ofhce of a slave, thus dignifying and glorifying 



CHRIST'S IDEA OF GREATNESS 205 

service. Gradually the world has been coming up 
to Christ's idea. Service is being exalted, and even 
rulers are looked upon as the servants of the people. 
The king now lives for the people, and not the 
people for the king, as formerly was the case. At 
last we are coming to see that he is greatest who 
serves the most and best. Thus we are falling into 
line with a great principle in the divine economy. 
Everything in nature serves. Nothing lives or exists 
for itself, but everything for something else. Each 
for all and all for each is the principle upon which 
the universe is organized. When Christ declared this 
wonderful doctrine, he was long centuries in advance 
of his time. 

2. Christ was content to measure his claims by 
the standard he set up for others. On one occa- 
sion, John the Baptist sent to Christ to inquire : ''Art 
thou he that cometh, or look we for another?" Jesus 
replied: ''Go and tell John the things which ye hear 
and see, the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, 
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead 
are raised up and the poor have ^ood tidings preached 
to them." Thus we see that even when his Messiah- 
ship was in question, he rested the case on the service 
rendered to needy men. When will all men realize 
that their claim to greatness must ultimately rest on 
service to mankind? Is not such teaching worthy of 
the divinity its author claimed? 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The Argument Based on Christ's Easy 
Triumph over Human Cunning.* 



m 



Two passages of Scripture are here given 
order to show the cunning and strategy used by 
Christ's enemies, in order to ensnare him and thereby 
discredit him before the people. 

Matt. 22:15-46 and 12:38-40: ''Then went the 
Pharisees, and took counsel how they might ensnare 
him in his talk. And they send to him their disciples, 
with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that 
thou art true and teachest the way of God in truth, 
and carest not for any one : for thou regardest not 
the person of men. Tell us, therefore. What thinkest 
thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or 
not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, 
Why make ye trial of me, ye hypocrites? Show me 
the tribute money. And they brought unto him a 
denarius. And he said unto them, Whose is this 
image and superscription? They say unto him, 
Caesar's. Then he saith unto them, Render therefore 
unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's ; and unto 
God the things that are God's. And when they heard 
it, they marvelled, and left him, and went away. 

*'On that day there came to him Sadducees ; they 
that say that there is no resurrection ; and they asked 



* For kindred and helpful thoughts, see Parker's 'Teople's 
Bible." on chapters here referred to. 
206 



PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES QUESTION CHRIST 207 

him, saying, Teacher, Moses said. If a man die, having 
no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and 
raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with 
us seven brethren : and the first married and de- 
ceased, and having no seed left his wife unto his 
brother; in like manner the second also, and the 
third, unto the seventh. And after them all, the 
woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose 
wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 
But Jesus answered and said unto them. Ye do err, 
not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are 
given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven. But 
as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not 
read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and 
the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, 
but of the living. And when the multitudes heard it, 
they were astonished at his teaching. 

"But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had 
put the Saddticees to silence, gathered themselves 
together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a 
question, trying him. Teacher, which is the great 
commandment in the law? And he said unto him, 
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This 
is the great and first commandment. And a second 
like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
thyself. On these two commandments the whole law 
hangeth, and the prophets. 

"Now while the Pharisees were gathered together 
Jesus asked them a question, saying, What think ye 
of the Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, 
The son of David. He saith unto them. How thon 



208 THE KING OF KINGS 

doth David in the spirit call him Lord, saying, The 
Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 
till 1 put thine enemies underneath my feet? If David 
then called him Lord, how is he his son? And 
no one was able to answer him a word, neither 
durst any man from that day forth ask him any more 
questions. 

"Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees an- 
swered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign 
from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An 
evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign ; 
and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign 
of Jonah the prophet; for as Jonah was three days 
and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall 
the Son of man be three days and three nights in the 
heart of the earth." 

\. Depraved human nature is always and every- 
where the same. Bad men are never willing to enter 
into a fair fight. They invariably seek to take a 
mean advantage of their opponents. They resort to 
underhanded methods. They seek to vanquish their 
adversaries by any means that promises success. They 
are not searching for truth or for the triumph of 
right, but for personal victory. 

2. In the Scripture quoted above, we have an 
account of an attempt, on the part of cunning, preju- 
diced men, to ensnare the Son of God. This is truly 
a strange spectacle : Finite cunning attempting to 
entangle and overthrow the divine wisdom. You 
may say these men did not recognize the divinity of 
Jesus, but even if they had, it would have probably 
made no difference, judging by what we not infre- 
quently see. The same thing is still going on. Men 
often are found engaged in trying to ask questions 



HOW CHRIST MET HIS QUESTIONERS 209 

too hard for God. There are those who to-day come 
with the same tempting inquiries. Not that they 
do not believe in God, or in Jesus Christ, but they 
Hke to ask hard questions. Some think if they can 
puzzle the preacher they have done a smart thing, 
and those who want to get rid of God think some- 
thing has been gained if they can only suggest some 
difficulty. This kind of question asking is a very 
unprofitable business. It never comes from earnest 
desire to know the truth, and to follow in the line of 
duty. It is the outgrowth either of pure curiosity, 
innate hypocrisy, or unreasoning prejudice. 

3. It is very interesting to notice how Christ 
meets these men. Will he see through their sophis- 
tries? Will he show himself unable to cope suc- 
cessfully with these cunning bigots? Or, seeing their 
dishonest purpose and hopeless prejudice, will he 
turn from them with contempt and disdain? On 
the supposition that he were merely a man, could 
he have escaped embarrassment and confusion under 
the circumstances? On the supposition that he were 
divine, could his answer have been improved upon ? 
This is a perfectly fair inquiry. If better answers 
can be framed, if a better method than he employed 
can be suggested, a presumption might be raised 
against his claim to divinity. If, however, his 
answers and his methods are entirely consistent with 
such claim, and meet any just expectation created 
by it, then we have incidental testimony as to the 
justice of his claim of no unimportant character. Let 
us see how the matter stands. 

I. Notice, first of all, those who were engaged 
in this attempt to ensnare Christ and the probable 
reason that influenced them. 



210 THE KING OF KINGS 

1. The orthodox Jews combined with hostile 
sects and made common cause against Jesus. We 
should bear in mind that the coming of the Mes- 
siah was not an unexpected and unforetold event. 
The Jewish scriptures abounded in prophecies con- 
cerning this. The Jewish nation, even at this time, 
v/as looking for the coming One, nor does this 
expectation seem to have been confined to the Jews. 
There was nothing, then, in his claim to Messiah- 
ship to shock them. On the contrary, it ought to 
have prepared them to investigate honestly and care- 
fully. _ They ought at least to have been willing to 
give him a fair chance instead of trying to embarrass 
him. Neither did they oppose him because he uttered 
truths shocking to the general moral sense, but, on 
the contrary, his teachings were of the highest ethical 
character and value. 

2. We are then led to ask why these opposing 
factions were led into an attempt to ensnare the 
Messiah? The answer is plain. They were not op- 
posing the Messiah, but rather the way in which 
he came. They had decided how the Messiah ought 
to come, and they were unwilling to receive him 
unless he came that way. This is the very essence 
of sectarianism. The world has not outgrown this 
peculiarity even yet. These men thought their own 
ideas of manner or method more important than 
anything else. So it is to-day. Men will sacrifice 
the thing they profess to desire rather than their own 
ideas as to how the thing ought to be done. We see 
much of this in church work, temperance work, and 
all forms of benevolent activity. 

II. In the next place, note the nature of this 
attack and the underlying cause. 



THE NATURE OF THE ATTACK ON CHRIST 211 

1. It was a deliberately prepared attack. "They 
took counsel — " There is evidence everywhere of 
premeditation, arrangement, concert. They tried to 
avoid any weakness on their part by careful plan- 
ning. No notice was sent to Christ. No intimation 
given of the attack. They evidently wanted to take 
him at a disadvantage. This is true of all the 
attacks on Christianity. They are all always and 
everywhere manifestly unscrupulous. 

2. It was subtly adapted to the peculiar state of 
the speaker's mind. Jesus had just been uttering 
judgments and denunciations. Before this he had 
taught in parables. His manner and subject-matter 
had been mild and gentle, but his tone had changed. 
He had now spoken with apparent feeling and in- 
tensity. The people around, therefore, may have 
supposed him to be excited. Doubtless supposing 
they would catch him off his guard, they came to 
ensnare him. 

3. The attack was not inspired by zeal for truth. 
These people did not want to know God's mind, but 
they were moved by hatred of the man. It is won- 
derful how hatred can mask its true character. They 
come with compliments and outward politeness. 

The real inspiration of the attacks against Christ 
is here manifested. The Pharisees and Herodians 
had nothing in common. One might almost con- 
clude they were very close friends. On the con- 
trary, the Pharisees were the orthodox Jews, while 
the Herodians were advocates of the national sub- 
mission to Rome. They were political enemies. 
What united them? Hatred of this man. Hatred 
makes strange combinations. Another illustration of 
the adage that, '^Politics makes strange bedfellows." 



212 THE KING OF KINGS 

4. There are strange combinations still. Free- 
lovers, anarchists, false religionists, the liquor power, 
and infidelity in multiform varieties, are all united in a 
common war on Christianity. All differences are for- 
gotten in the common hatred they bear it. What is 
the bond of union? Hatred inspires the compact. A 
common hatred will unite otherwise discordant ele- 
ments. When men rise to dispute the Bible, what 
is the secret of their action? Is it anxiety about cer- 
tain literary discrepancies, or other difficulties they 
think they have found? No. Judging by the history, 
this is by no means the reason. It is hatred of the 
moralities of the book. It condemns them as did 
Christ the Pharisees and their co-conspirators. Here 
we get a hint as to the real obstacles that stand in 
the way of Christianity to-day. Some men would 
pay almost any sum to buy themselves off from the 
moralities of the Bible. Such an investment is the 
beginning of a fortune. The moralities taught shut 
up certain avenues of profit or sinful pleasure. Here 
is the secret of the opposition in most cases. Men 
may pretend they want certain literary questions set- 
tled, or certain apparent discrepancies explained, but 
the fact is they hate the high m,oral standards there 
set up. Still others hate the Book because of the 
humiliations it imposes. These persons also grow 
anxious about questions of date, or authorship. Let 
every man search himself in this matter, and let us 
remember it is useless to waste time on such objec- 
tors. Do anything to answer the difficulties of an 
honest skeptic, but time given to the dishonest critic 
is ''love's labor lost." 

III. I must next call attention to Christ's an- 
swers. 



THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST'S ANSWERS 213 

1. The general character of his answers is note- 
worthy : 

(1) His answers were extemporaneous. A bold 
contrast is here shown between the question and 
answer. Herein lies the germ of a great argument. 
It is surely no easy thing to answer the supreme 
intellects of the age after they have carefully pre- 
pared their attack, and do it extempore and without 
warning. 

(2) In the next place, observe these answers 
were intellectually acute. Sit down at your leisure, 
when your head is coolest, and try to amend one 
of these answers. Sometimes we think of Christ as 
only a good man, kind-hearted and gentle. All this 
is true, but he was more. It suits some men to 
regard Christ as morally noble, but intellectually 
feeble. Nothing is further from the truth than this 
last view. He excelled the smartest in intellectual 
power. 

(3) I notice also that His replies were scriptural. 
He accused His critics of "not knowing the scrip- 
tures." He seemed to say to the Sadducees — "I 
know your trouble. The resurrection troubles you. 
Wherein you err is in not knowing the scriptures nor 
the power of God." If we eliminate from our calcu- 
lations the scriptures and the power of God, the 
resurrection is a perplexing thing. Nobody can ex- 
plain it, but it should not be rejected on that ac- 
count. 

(4) I note also that His answers were complete. 
His reply to the lawyer shows this. See Matt. 22, 
verses 36-39, which we have quoted. He does not 
evade the question, but meets it fairly and fully, and 
when he is through, nothing remains to be said. 



214 . THE KING OF KINGS 

There is no sliding over the hard point Hghtly. This 
certainly must be evident to the candid student. 

2. The specific answers to the questions pro- 
pounded in the scriptures quoted at the head of this 
chapter are no less remarkable and instructive : 

(1) After paying Him a very high compliment, 
his critics say, 'Ts it lav^ful to give tribute to Caesar 
or not?" In this question they presented a dilemma, 
expecting to impale him on one horn or the other. 
They see no w^ay for him to escape. Doubtless they 
chuckled inwardly with satisfaction over their own 
shrewdness. If he should answer in the affirmative, 
then he would throw himself liable to the charge of 
disloyalty to the civil authorities ; if he should answer 
negatively, then he would place himself in opposition 
to the orthodox Jews. In either case, they think his 
answer must result in his own discomfiture, for 
surely he must say yes or no. Now consider Christ's 
answer. Taking a denarius, he says, "Whose is this 
image and superscription?" They say, ''Caesar's." 
Then he replied, ''Render, therefore, unto Caesar the 
things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that 
are God's." Who could improve on that? Talk 
about acuteness ! Imagine a keener answer if you 
can! How, now, about their dilemma? They mar- 
vel, turn their backs upon him' and depart, and they 
show good sense in doing so. That was their easiest 
way out of the trouble in which they had involved 
themselves. Their dilemma turned out to be a dis- 
agreeable boomerang, as manipulated by the Master. 

(2) The Pharisees having met with defeat, the 
Sadducees must needs have their turn at asking 
questions, and as a matter of course their character- 
istic doctrine must crop out ; namely, their denial of 



CHRIST'S SPECIFIC ANSWERS 215 

the resurrection of the dead. They put up an hypo- 
thetical, though not impossible, case. They say: "If 
one of seven brothers should die and leave a child- 
less widow, and each of the other six should marry 
the widow in turn and die, whose v/if^ would she 
be in the resurrection?" Doubtless, they thought 
this made the doctrine of the resurrection an ab- 
surdity. Christ looked at them calmly, and said, 
"Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power 
of God." Here Christ presents a fact very often over- 
looked even in our day; namely, that the scriptures 
and the power of God must go together. Lose sight 
of the powder of God, and the declaration of the scrip- 
tures concerning immortality have no sufficient basis. 
This was the difficulty with the Pharisees. Infidels 
in our time adopt the same mode of attack. I have 
heard them say, "How can the body rise when the 
same material substance may go to make two or 
more bodies in the process of time, and in the many 
possible mutations?" How can such an objector be 
answered? Christ shows us: "Ye do err, not know- 
ing the scriptures nor the power of God." When 
the scriptures declare, "They that are in their graves 
shall hear the voice of the Son of God and come 
forth," we may readily accept it, basing our belief 
on the scriptures and the power of God. That 
answer of Christ seems very easy and simple, but it 
can not be improved upon. No reasoning could 
make the matter plainer. Christ was not betrayed 
into an attempt to explain matters, which only the 
words, "the power of God," can explain. But, having 
stated the fact and the reason for it, he goes a step 
further, and notice that the statement that follows 
involves his divinity: "For in the resurrection they 



216 THE KING OF KINGS 

neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as 
angels in heaven." No one could say that of 
his own knowledge but him that came down from 
heaven. Then Christ again quotes scripture, 'T am 
the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the 
God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but 
the living." As much as to say, "If ye prefer logic 
to an authoritative declaration, here it is." Who can 
surpass that treatment of a hard case put by shrewd 
men? No improvement on that answer has ever been 
suggested. 

(3) By this time the Pharisees have somewhat 
recovered from their discomfiture, and must needs 
make one more attempt. In this we have an example 
of an oft-recurring fact. Some one has said, ''No 
question is every settled until it is settled right." I 
will add : no question is ever settled by the consent 
of both parties until it has been settled twice. The 
vanquished party generally must make a second 
attempt before giving up. So it was with the 
Pharisees. One of their number, a lawyer, must 
have his say before giving the matter up. He put 
the question, "Which is the great commandment?" 
This transfers the struggle to entirely new ground. 
It is not now a question of shrewd encounter; it is 
not a matter of entrapping Him with cunning ques- 
tions in which a difficulty lies concealed, but of moral 
judgment and mental grasp. Possibly there may 
have been the expectation that Christ might select 
one of God's positive commands, and elevate it to 
the supreme place of importance, and thereby dis- 
parage the others. This has been the fashion with 
men, and is common even to-day. Men talk about 
essentials and non-essentials in dealing with God's 



CHRIST'S SPECIFIC ANSWERS 217' 

requirements, all of which is to be condemned ; but 
the situation hardly suggests that it was in the 
mind of the lawyer to lead Christ into committing 
this mistake. It is most probable the question was 
put for the purpose of testing his mental ability to 
decide as to the relative value of great moral and 
legal principles. Christ met the issue promptly and 
fairly. He replied, ''Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
with all thy mind. This is the great and first com- 
mandment. And the second like unto it is this, 
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these 
two commandments the whole law hangeth and the 
prophets." If the lawyer was seeking to test his 
mental grasp, he must have been satisfied as to its 
depth and profundity. Christ, instead of picking out 
one or two commandments of the law and giving 
to them pre-eminence, reached down underneath the 
law and took hold of the two great underlying prin- 
ciples on which all the commandments rested, and 
brought them to view. This does not elevate any one 
commandment at the expense of the rest, but glorifies 
all equally. No one will ever attempt to improve on 
this answer. It is absolutely perfect, as are all the 
others examined. 

(4) I am impelled in this connection to intro- 
duce another attempt of the Pharisees to embarrass 
Him, not by asking hard questions, but by a very 
strange request. Jesus had been working miracles of 
divers kinds, demonstrating his ability to exercise the 
powers and prerogatives of God. At first the Phari- 
sees said, "This man doth not cast out demons but 
by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons." The reply 
that Jesus made is characterized by his usual wisdom 



218 THE KING OF KINGS 

and acumen. They then come and say, "Teacher, 
we would see a sign from thee." Just as if no mir- 
acle had been wrought by him. They simply ignored 
the many notable miracles that he had been working 
and asked for another, using language that would 
imply that no miracle had been Avrought. No wonder 
Jesus' language is not entirely complimentary to 
them. He replied, ''An evil and adulterous genera- 
tion seeketh after a sign, and there shall be no sign 
given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet, for 
as Jonah was three days and three nights in the 
belly of the whale, so shall the Son of man be three 
days and three nights in the heart of the earth." 
The whole context and all the circumstances taken 
into account as they are set forth in the twelfth chap- 
ter of Matthew, enable us to paraphrase Christ's 
reply thus, "You ignore the mighty signs I have per- 
formed and demand another, but no greater sign 
shall be given except my death, burial and resur- 
rection. I have been healing the sick and casting out 
demons, but I have power to voluntarily lay down 
my life and take it up again. This is the greatest 
of all miracles, inasmuch as it demonstrates my 
divinity." A man can work miracles by the power 
of God, but none but a divine person can lay down 
his life and take it up again. Hence, Christ is "de- 
clared to be the Son of God, with power by the res- 
urrection from the dead." This was the sign of 
Jonah, that Old Testament miracle so much ridiculed, 
yet stamped with the seal of Christ's approval in 
that he made it a type of his own death, burial and 
resurrection. Here again I ask, Can any one im- 
prove on that reply? When men shut their eyes to 
the miracles he was performing, what more could he 



JESUS BECOMES QUESTIONER 219 

do than to point to his death and resnrrection as the 
very climax of miracles? Thus the wonder grows 
the more we study Christ's replies to his captious 
critics. 

IV. This discussion would be incomplete without 
allowing Jesus to become questioner. 

1. Finally, note that Jesus turns Uie tables on 
his questioners. He seems to say, "Let me give 
you a sample of hard questions." ''What think ye of 
the Christ: whose son is he?" They answer, like 
children reciting an answer learned by rote, ''The 
son of David." "How, then," said Christ, "does 
David call him Lord?" Here is indeed a difficulty 
for them. If Christ is David's son, how does David 
call him Lord? There is only one answer to this, 
and that involves the pre-existence of Jesus, which 
carries with it his divinity. Truly this man was 
"Emmanuel," God with us. 

2. Christianity can always ssk the hardest ques- 
tions. Do not imagine infidelity alone can ask them. 
Consider a few : Why, if this religion is false, has not 
human wisdom produced something better? Why 
do free institutions flourish best in Christian lands? 
Why have the best civilizations been born of Chris- 
tianity? Why does not unbelief inspire noblest feel- 
ings and sentiments, if it be true? Why does not 
infidelity produce the best and happiest homes? 
Why does not unbelief make a soft dying pillow? 
When men kill Christianity, as they profess to do, 
why does it not stay dead? Unbelievers, you will 
never answer these questions. There is no answer 
except this — Jesus Christ is the Son of God and his 
religion is divine. Christianity is God's answer to 
the religious nature of man. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The Argument Based on the Fact that the 
Principles Operative in Christ's Kingdom 
are in Perfect Accord with Well-Estab- 
lished Principles in General, and Espe- 
cially with the Divine Principles at Work 
in the Natural World.* 

Matt. 13 : 31 : "Another parable set he before them, saying, 
The kingdom of heaven is Hke unto a grain of mustard seed, 
which a man took, and sowed in his field." 

Luke 17:20: "'And being asked by the Pharisees, when the 
kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said. The 
kingdom of God cometh not with observation." 

1. All truth is from God: Therefore, no truth 
can ever conflict with any other truth. Principles of 
action in one realm must and will harmonize with 
the principles at work in every other realm. This 
does not mean that there may not be principles 
operative in one domain not operative in another, 
but it does mean that whenever principles are ap- 
plicable to two or more realms, such principles are 
in perfect agreement. God does not adopt one set 
of principles in one realm and an opposite or an- 
tagonistic set of principles in another. It is inter- 
esting, therefore, to note the agreement of the prin- 
ciples at work in Christ's kingdom with the prin- 



* For fuller elaboration of helpful thoughts utilized in this 
chapter, see Parker's "People's Bible" on Matthew 13. 
220 



CHRIST'S TWO WONDERFUL CLAIMS 221 

ciples of growth and development outside of that 
kingdom, both in the world of mind and in the realm 
of matter. 

2. Christ came before the world making two 
wonderful claims ; one for himself and one for his 
church. For himself he said : ''I proceeded forth and 
came from God, neither came I of myself, but he 
sent me." In the parable of the mustard seed he 
claimed that as the mustard plant or tree was the 
greatest among plants, considering the very small 
seed from which it sprang, so his kingdom would be 
the greatest among kingdoms, although coming from 
a very small beginning. All this harmonizes with 
the many utterances of the prophets pointing to 
Christ's universal sway, and with the commission 
of Christ which appropriates the whole world as the 
field of the kingdom. 

Our confidence in the final triumph of Christ's 
kingdom may be strengthened by noting the agree- 
ment of its great principles with recognized dom- 
inant principles everywhere at work. It will also 
serve incidentally to strengthen Christ's claim to 
divinity. 

I. The kingdom of heaven is like all other king- 
doms of truth in that it began in a small way, but 
has vitality that can not be destroyed, and conquer- 
ing power that can not be overcome. 

The poet has expressed this truth in the lines: 

"Trudi crushed to earth will rise again, 
The eternal years of God are hers, 
While Error, wounded, writhes in pain, 
And dies amidst its worshipers." 

1. When Christ compared the beginning of his 
kingdom to a mustard seed, he pointed to a very 

(16) 



222 THE KING OF KINGS 

wonderful fact. The King himself had none of the 
accessories of power as viewed fiom a worldly stand- 
point. He was born of humble parents and cradled 
in a manger. He had not the piestige coming from 
wealth or worldly position. He was poor, very poor, 
and he chose his apostles from the ranks of the 
humble. The wealthy and powerful classes were 
arrayed against him. Great conquerors have relied 
for success on the things Christ did not have, and 
on which he placed no value. Now consider that 
without wealth or rank or social position or power- 
ful following, Christ declared, 'On this rock I will 
build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not 
prevail against it." Primarily, no doubt, the lan- 
guage meant against the rock, but in an equally true 
sense, it meant against his church. This is equiv- 
alent to the declaration that no power will prevail 
against Christ or his church. In his kingdom, al- 
though coming from a very small seed, there is a 
vitality that is indestructible. No power shall over- 
come it, but it shall accomplish that whereunto it 
was appointed, which is nothing" less than the com- 
plete subjugation of the world to its king. 

2. In every realm of truth the correspondence is 
complete. 

(1) Take, for example, free government; or, as 
it may be termed, the kingdom of liberty. It began 
in a very small way. When Christ was born into 
the world there was scarcely anything deserving the 
name of liberty. Slavery was a universal institution. 
Down in the soul of some man the 3^earning for 
freedom arose. This one doubtless took into his 
confidence another and another. Gradually the king- 
dom grew in the hearts of men until they felt strong 



THE SMALL BEGINNINGS OF TRUTH 223 

enough to engage in open conflict with their op- 
pressors. Great apostles of liberty arose as leaders. 
Gradually this kingdom is growing until finally, 
when the world is ready for it, freedom will be the 
universal heritage of men. 

(2) These same principles are illustrated in 
truth embodied in inventions. No invention that is 
really a true invention — that is, one that has in it 
power to benefit and bless mankind — can be killed. 
If crushed to earth, it will rise again. When the 
reapers and binders were first invented, men rose up 
against the inventions. The machines were broken 
to pieces and burned. Men said: "This thing shall 
not live. It takes labor away from men." But they 
were mistaken. It had in it power to bless men, and 
consequently it had a vitality that could not be de- 
stroyed. Here again the parable of the mustard seed 
finds illustration. The practical application of truth 
in mechanical inventions can not be successfully 
opposed. 

(3) This truth finds illustration in the field of 
science. No scientific truth can be put down. This 
has been tried, and probably it will be tried again, 
but it is all in vain. There is indestructible vitality 
and conquering power in scientific truth as in all 
other forms, and he who makes war aganst it fights a 
losing battle. Truth in any field partakes of the 
nature of God, its author : it is immortal. 

(4) Political truth furnishes another striking 
example. It will not down. Men may cry out 
against it and vote against it, and persecute and 
misrepresent its advocates, but finally it will prevail, 
and those who opposed it will be loudest in its 
advocacy. Hence it comes to pass that it is a 



224 THE KING OF KINGS 

dangerous thing to bring new truths to the world 
in any form. It will meet with opposition, and the 
advocate will suffer. He who brings new truth will 
be called a crank, a fanatic, a self-seeker, or some- 
thing worse, and if he escapes martyrdom he does 
well. The world's prophets and great apostles of 
truth have had a hard time of it. The Master 
pointed out this fact. He said, ''Ye garnish the 
sepulchres of the prophets, but your fathers slew 
them." So it has ever been. It is, however, a cheer- 
ing fact that in the long run both the truth and its 
advocates have been duly recognized and honored. 
Like the Master himself, buried truth will come forth 
from its sepulchre by its own inherent divine power. 

(5) This is illustrated in the incarnation of 
truth. A noble, pure character can not be perma- 
nently put down. Falsehood and persecution may 
do their worst, but at most their triumph is tem- 
porary. One generation may do a great man in- 
justice, and generally does, but the next will cor- 
rect it. You can not kill a true man except in a 
very vulgar sense. In the truest sense he will live, 
and that growingly as the ages j'dvance. 

The enemies of Christ thought they had accom- 
plished their wicked purpose when they rolled the 
stone to the door of his sepulchre, but they had 
really done nothing except to accomplish a certain 
necessary step in the divine plan. Their wicked act 
was a calculated part of the divine economy, and 
illustrated the fact that God can make the wrath of 
man to praise him. No, Jesus had said the gates of 
Hades shall not prevail against it, the rock, and 
hence Jesus came forth conqueror over death. An 
angel descended and rolled away the stone, and so 



THE SUCCESSFUL METHOD OF WORK 225 

it will ever be. God's angel will always come to 
roll away the stone from the sepulchre of buried 
truth. The gates of Hades shall never prevail against 
any kingdom of truth. No great truth was ever per- 
manently destroyed. When Jesus said, ''The king- 
dom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed," he 
simply called attention to the application of a great 
eternal divine principle in his own kingdom. 

II. Christ's method of working is the same that 
is employed by every successful worker in whatever 
realm he may be employed. 

1. Let us ask the question: In what way did 
Christ work that of necessity insured his success? 
Is there a method of work that carries with it the 
assurance of a triumphant issue of the work in hand, 
whatever it may be? If so, then it becomes us to 
discover what that method is. Let us study Christ, 
if happily we may discover the universally success- 
ful method of work. First: It must certainly be 
apparent that Christ worked with great industry. 
He was a persistent worker. Morning, noon and 
night was filled with some beneficent ministry. He 
declared, ''The Father works hitherto, and I work." 
But while this is true, does industry insure success? 
Certainly not, for many industrious persons have 
failed. It may be, and is, a factor in success, but 
it is not the determining factor. Second: It is evi- 
dent that Christ worked with enthusiasm and assur- 
ance. No one was ever more enthusiastic and con- 
fident than he. He never seemed to have any doubt 
as to the final issue. This, too, is a factor in suc- 
cess, but it does not insure it. ^lany an enthusiastic, 
confident worker has failed in the accomplishment 
of his plans and purposes. Third : He worked intel- 



226 - THE KING OF KINGS 

ligently. This certainly is necessary to success, but 
not all who work intelligently succeed. Then, 
wherein lies the secret of success? Unless I am 
much mistaken, the prophet has pointed it out to 
us. He declared: "He shall see of the travail of his 
soul, and shall be satisfied." Jesus was a soul 
worker, and hence had that which insures success. 

2. Tell me what that meanr-, do you say? That 
is easier said than done, but there is something in 
the worker that we call soul that spells success. 
The successful worker may have many good qual- 
ities, but if he does not travail in soul he has not 
the assurance of succeeding in his plans and pur- 
poses. An illustration may hel]^. us. In a great art 
gallery are many pictures. All may be pleasing, per- 
haps even a critic can not point out any defects in 
any particular painting, and yet there is one paint- 
ing there that exercises a wonderful influence over 
all beholders. As they stand and gaze, the bosom 
heaves and tears trickle down the cheeks. How was 
it painted? Diligently, industiiously, intelligently, 
enthusiastically? Yes, but more. The artist put 
soul into his painting. He travailed in soul when 
he executed it, and now he sees of the travail of his 
soul and is satisfied. What the world needs to-day 
is more soul workers. We have enthusiasm and 
industry and intelligence and ocher admirable qual- 
ities, but real soul workers arc scarce. Whenever 
one is found, we may safely prophesy the outcome : 
Success is certain. Herein the method of Christ 
agrees with the successful method in every field of 
endeavor. Author, poet, sculptor, statesman, preacher, 
who travails in soul in his work never fails. 

III. The silent power at work in Christ's king- 



THE SILENT POWER OF THE KINGDOM 227 

dom bears striking resemblance to the great silent 
forces of nature. 

1. When Christ was asked by the Pharisees when 
the kingdom of God would come, he answered, 
''The kingdom of God cometh not with observation." 
Herein some might find cause for alarm. Whatever 
man undertakes he seems to think it must come with 
observation in order to insure success. We inau- 
gurate our enterprises with pomp and parade. If we 
build a public building, we must needs lay the 
corner-stone with ceremony and display. We call 
into use flags and bunting and bands of music and 
processions to celebrate our undertakings. We think 
all this necessary to success. No doubt the Phari- 
sees thought something like this would be the appro- 
priate method for one who talked of the establish- 
ment of a kingdom. Not seeing anything like this, 
they inquired when the*kingdom would come. Jesus 
calmly said, ''The kingdom of God cometh not with 
observation." In effect he said, "Do not imagine 
that great things are necessarily noisy, ostentatious 
things." Do not imagine that the kingdom of God 
must come with pomp and pageantry. The greatest 
forces are silent forces. God does not need to 
advertise the inauguration of his kingdom by noisy 
declamation and outward manifestation. As a matter 
of fact, the real power of the kingdom is in the heart. 
"The kingdom of God is within, you." If it be not 
in you, no amount of outward display can give it 
power. 

2. In order that we may appreciate and under- 
stand this, let us turn our eyes to God's great forces 
in nature. Take, for example, the force of gravity 
that pulls everything on this mundane sphere to the 



228 THE KING OF KINGS 

earth's center, in our solar system to the center of 
the sun, and in the universe doubtless to some re- 
mote center. What it is in essence we know not, 
but we recognize in it a mighty, irresistible force. 
It makes no display, silently it works. It lies con- 
cealed within the great frame of nature, but it is 
none the less mighty because concealed. Take as a 
second illustration the force of evaporation that lifts 
up untold tons of water, acting contrary to the force 
of gravity and overcoming it. A sheet of water 
many inches deep, all over the surface of the ocean, 
is lifted up thus every year by this force which acts 
silently and in a way that we can not see it. It is 
a great force lying concealed in nature. Capillary 
attraction, by which great masses of matter are 
lifted up through vegetable cells, is another example. 
It, too, accomplishes its work in opposition to the 
force of gravity, yet the work accomplished can 
scarcely be computed. Is it not evident that the 
greatest forces in nature are silent forces? They 
come not with observation, yet they work with irre- 
sistible power each in its own way. When Christ 
said, "The kingdom of God cometh not with obser- 
vation," he simply announced that the great forces 
at work in bringing in and establishing the kingdom 
were like the great forces of God in nature. 

The prophet, in pointing to the Messiah, said, 
"'He shall not cry nor lift up his voice, nor cause it 
to be heard in the street. A bruised reed will he 
not break and a dimly burning wick will he not 
quench." This points to the quiet, unostentatious 
manner of our Saviour, so in contrast with the noisy, 
boisterous manner of men, and so like God's great 
methods in the accomplishment of his mighty work. 



SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL NEEDS— HOIV MET 229 

IV. Christ meets and answers man's needs in 
the spiritual realm just as nature meets his wants 
in the physical realm. 

1. When God gave his commission to Moses, 
Moses said : "Those to whom I go will want to know 
by whose authority I come, who sent me." God 
said, "^Answer the demand by saying, 'I am that I 
am, sent you.' " What a strange answer was this [ 
Its meaning at best is obscure. This can never sat- 
isfy man's inquiry after God. We are told that the 
phrase means *'the self-existent One." No doubt 
this is true, but the soul demands more than to 
know God is self-existent, which fact is itself in- 
comprehensible. If to know God is life eternal, then 
some better answer must be given than 'T am that 
I am," as a definition of him. God understood that 
full well, and never intended to rest the case there. 
He gave an answer to Moses suited to the time and 
circumstances, but it was not a final answer. In the 
oncoming age a final and complete answer would 
be given when man was ready to receive it ; when 
certain great and necessary lessons had been learned 
preparatory to the reception of the true answer. 
Man must learn that he is hungry, and that the 
world could not satisfy his hunger; he must learn 
that h^ is thirsty, and that the world can not offer 
him the water that will quench his thirst ; he must 
learn that he is sick, and that the world has no 
physician with skill enough to heal him ; he must 
learn that he is without a home, and that the world 
has nc\ safe abiding-place ; he must learn that he is 
lost and exposed to great danger, and that the world 
has no shepherd who can guide him and protect him. 
Finally, in God's good time, when the great and 



230 THE KING OF KINGS 

necessary lessons of man's need and the world's 
inability to meet that need had been demonstrated, 
God's final and complete answer appeared in the 
person of Jesus Christ. Boldly, yet calmly, stand- 
ing up before the world he says, "I am the bread of 
life, of which, if a man eat, he shall never hunger 
any more. I am the water of life ; he that thirsts, 
let him come to me and drink. I am the great 
physician, I am the door into safety and peace, I 
am the good shepherd of the sheep." Pause and 
consider. Has man any spiritual want that Christ 
does not meet and satisfy? Are not all soul wants 
met and completely satisfied in Jesus of Nazareth? 
Are not all soul questions fully answered? "Lord, 
show us the Father, and it sufhceth us." ''Have I 
been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not 
known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath 
seen the Father." Here the answer, begun to Moses, 
was completed in all its fullness, and he who hon- 
estly accepts this answer and gives to it proper con- 
sideration must say, "It is complete and satisfying." 
2. But here again material nature furnishes an 
exact likeness of Christ. Mother nature is very 
bounteous in supplying the needs of her children. 
God, in our natures, never creates a want for which 
he makes no provision any more than in the intel- 
lectual and spiritual realms. When he creates an 
eye he creates light to satisfy, when he makes an 
ear he creates sound; to answer the social instinct, 
he creates society — the wants of every creature are 
met with their own appropriate nourishment. He 
feeds the, young ravens when they cry; no creature 
is too insignificant to be noticed and provided for. 
The lion that stalks the plain and the worm beneath 



CHRIST DEMANDS ALL 231 

our feet are all within the plan and provision of 
God. Consequently, in the spiritual world, as in the 
whole realm of nature, God's answer to the cry of 
his creatures is complete and full, and Jesus is that 
answer in the spiritual domain. 

V. Christ, like nature, demands all in order to 
success. 

1. There is nothing calculated to excite greater 
wonder than the amazing demands of Christ. One 
would think that this would insure his defeat. 
Viewed from a purely worldly standpoint, we would 
naturally say, "Men will not pay the price that 
Christ demands." Let us consider what the price 
really is. He, in the most emphatic and uncom- 
promising way, demands our all. He does not pro- 
pose to share with any one. "If any man cometh 
unto me, and hateth not his own father and mother 
and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea, 
and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 
Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come 
after me, cannot be my disciple." "So, therefore, 
whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that 
he hath, he cannot be my disciple." Before such 
language we may well stand amazed. The word 
"hate" in this connection is doubtless an idiomatic 
use of the word, meaning to love less or hate in 
comparison, but the doctrine is clear. Christ de- 
mands the central place in the heart, and whatevei 
is in the way must stand aside. Even life itself 
must be given up if need be for Christ. 

Then you say he will meet with defeat. He asks 
too much. This is an unreasonable demand that 
men will refuse to honor. So it might seem, but 
what does the history of the case show? Sufficient 



232 THE KING OF KINGS 

time has elapsed since Christ uttered the words to 
test the matter. Do men honor these demands of 
Christ? We need not be told the answer. History 
sets forth a line of shining examples from Christ 
down to the present. His own apostles gave up 
their lives for him. Thousands and hundreds of 
thousands freely and joyfully have given up their 
lives in attestation of their faith. No form of death 
has been too terrible for them to endure. Friends 
and relations have been given up for Christ; nothing 
has been too dear. 

How stands the case to-day? The same thing 
is going on ; fathers and mothers give up their 
children to go to the other side of the earth 
for Christ, knowing they may never see them again. 
Dear as are the loved ones, Christ is dearer. Men 
and women take their lives in their hands to do the 
service of Christ in ministering unto needy men. 
People are pouring out their money for no selfisii 
end, purely in the service of Christ. Still there arc 
those who give up all, money, friends, yea, even life 
itself, for the Master's sake. Constrained by the love 
of Christ, they count all things but refuse for his sake. 
This will go on till the end of time. The age of 
martyrdom is not past, nor will it ever be till Christ 
shall come again. 

2. But in all this nature furnishes us a parallel, 
so far as the lower realm can parallel the higher. 
The mineral gives itself for the vegetable, the plant 
for the animal, the animal for man, and in the great 
realm of mankind the law is ever at work. The seed 
must die for its offspring, the animal for its young, 
with this strange obtrusive fact that the higher dies 
for the lower in one important sense. While the 



GOD'S WILL SUPREME IN CHRIST'S KINGDOM 233 

lower world dies for the higher world, yet within 
each world the higher dies for the lower. The seed, 
the fruit, dies for the plant, the parent for the child, 
the best people for the worst people; all finding an 
analogy in God clothed in flesh dying for man. 
Hence, said Christ, ''He that dies most completely, 
or for the greatest number, is greatest ; the greatest 
servant is the greatest man." Holland has beauti- 
fuly said : 

"Life evermore is fed by death, 

In earth or sea or sky, 
And that a rose may breathe its breath, 
Something must die." 

VI. In Christ's kingdom, as in nature, the will o£ 
God is supreme. 

1. Christ himself, even though he was God mani- 
fest in the flesh, exalted the will of the Father and 
held himself subservient to it. ''I came down from 
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him 
that sent me." "Remove this cup from me ; neverthe- 
less not my will, but thine be done." ''My meat is 
to do the will of him that sent me." These passages 
sound the very keynote in the life of Christ. He 
also demanded of others what he rendered to God ; 
namely, perfect obedience. "He that hath my com- 
mandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth 
me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my 
Father. Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these 
least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall 
be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but who- 
soever shall do and teach them, he shall be called 
great in the kingdom of heaven." "If ye keep my 
commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as 
I have kept my Father's commandments and abide 



234 THE KING OF KINGS 

in his love." Throughout the New Testament the 
idea of obedience is magnified. Blessings are pro- 
nounced upon the obedient, and anathemas upon the 
disobedient. To do God's will is held up as the very 
essence of a true, blameless life, and to exalt the 
human will against the divine is declared to lead to 
ruin and destruction, here and hereafter. 

2. All this beautifully harmonizes with what we 
see in the natural world. The will of God is the 
fountain of order and blessedness. There is no con- 
flict in nature, because the will of God is obeyed, or 
rather everything in nature keeps its appointed place 
and moves in its appointed orbit because the will of 
God is impressed upon* all inanimate things and is 
hence supreme. When Jesus demands submission 
to the will of God in the spiritual realm, he declares 
in substance that the will of God must be supreme 
in all realms in order to peace and blessedness. 
Strange that men will refuse submission to God's 
will when all nature voices the doctrine. Doubly 
strange since departure from God's will has always 
been attended with ruin. There is, however, 
one difiference between the world of mind and the 
world of matter. In the former, God's will is ex- 
pressed and man has power to move contrary to it; 
in the latter, it*is impressed and obedience is necessi- 
tated. But it should also be observed that it is only 
when obedience is free and voluntary that there can 
be virtue and vice, and consequently rewards and 
punishments. Hence the exhortations, admonitions 
and warnings of the Word of God. 

VII. The work of Christ is foreordained to ulti- 
mate success, and in this, too, it bears resemblance 
to the outcome of nature's processes. 



THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF TRUTH 235 

1. The ultimate triumph of Christ's kingdom is 
something that should never be lost sight of. There 
is no greater guarantee of success than confident 
expectation of the same. The hopeful man is the 
strong man, and the discouraged man is always weak. 
Christ was not only hopeful, but positive in his assur- 
ance of success. The prophets first and last spoke 
of the final successful issue of the coming kingdom, 
and why should this not be true? The power of God 
is in it, the wisdom of God behind it, and the eternity 
of God before it. It must succeed, if God be God. 
And Jesus, who came down from heaven and knew 
the things of the Father, spoke with the certainty 
of God. No power shall overthrow his work. Our un- 
faithfulness may retard the final triumph, but nothing 
shall prevent it. If wc prove unfaithful, God will 
find a better, more faithful agency. The final victory 
will come. 

2. This all falls in line with the triumph of all 
nature's processes. We speak of the blind forces of 
nature, but these blind forces are never defeated, they 
always accomplish the end for which they were 
divinely ordained. Nature may be blind, but God, 
who uses nature as his instrument, can see the end 
of all things from the beginning, and work to thai 
end definitely and surely. Nature's processes secure 
their end just as surely as adequate causes produce 
definite results. Nature never fails. True, the indi- 
vidual may perish, but the species endures and rises 
to higher and higher levels in the economy and plan 
of God. So with man. I may perish by failure to 
make the will of God supreme in my life, but a 
redeemed humanity will not fail in its accomplish- 
ment. "He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he 



236 THE KING OF KINGS 

have set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall 
wait ior his law." 

Thus we see that the great principles at work in 
the kingdom of God are universal, eternal principles 
running throughout the great universe of God. The 
kingdom of God is not unlike any and every other 
kingdom. It recognizes great principles of truth as 
old as God, and as universal as the universe of God. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Argument Based on the Fact that Christ 

Always Spoke and Acted in a Manner 

Worthy of His Claim.* 

1. It is one thing to make great claims, it is 
entirely a different thing to measure up to those 
claims under all the circumstances of life. I go 
further and say, it is not uncommon to see some won- 
derful act performed by a man, but it is another thing 
for the wonder-worker to maintain the same high 
level and never drop to the common plane. Joseph 
Smith, the founder of Mormonism, had the reputation 
among his followers of being a miracle-worker. His 
deception was complete, but it does not require a 
very careful observer to discover that Joseph Smith 
dropped to a very low level in many things. It is 
no trouble to see that he lived on the human plane, 
as fallible and weak as ordinary mortals. The juggler 
may astonish us with his tricks. In his specialty he 
is beyond us, perhaps, but when he comes down from 
the stage he soon shows himself to be a very com- 
mon sort of man in most respects. No man has 
ever been able to maintain the same high level at 
all points. If he has phenomenal powers at some 
points, he reveals weaknesses at other points. There 
is a plainly discoverable unevenness in even the 
greatest men. 



* Parker's "People's Bible," volumes on Matthew, has been of 
much service in preparing portions of this chapter. 

(17) 2^^ 



238 THE KING OF KINGS 

2. Jesus put forth the greatest claim ever made 
by any one. He claimed to be the Son of God and 
to be equal with God. The Scriptures say, "He 
thought it not a prize to be equal with God.'' We 
have been setting forth various lines of argument in 
proof of these wonderful claims. At this point wc 
may well raise the question, Did Christ always 
measure up to his claim? Did he show any in- 
equalities. Did he occasionally drop to low levels as 
all great men have done? In other words, did he 
on any occasion do or say anything that would tend 
to discredit his high claim? I am confident that the 
closest scrutiny will fail to discover the slightest 
inequality in any point in Christ's life. Men have 
been trying to do this ever since he was here on 
earth, but they have utterly failed. "I find no fault 
in him," was the judgment of Pilate, and this has 
been the declaration of all right-minded men since, 
and the utter failure of his hostile critics negatively 
announces the same verdict.* A few striking incidents 
from the life of Christ may help us better to under- 
stand and appreciate the force of this argument. 

I call attention to : 

I. The scene in the temple where the boy Christ 
was found disputing with the lawyers and doctors. 

1. When God sent his only begotten Son into 
the world, he saw fit to introduce him into our hu- 
manity in the form of a babe, born of a virgin. As 
Beecher said, "\Miat purer inlet into humanity could 
have been found?" But Jesus was divine, the only 
begotten Son of God ; we are not to suppose that 



*A similar line of thought is found on pages 138 and 139 in 
discussing the harmony between the outward and inner life of 
Christ. 



CHRIST'S NORMAL DEVELOPMENT 239 

miraculous powers were exercised or possessed by 
him in infancy, Roman Catholic tradition to the con- 
trary. A miracle-working child can not be conceived 
of as falling Avithin the divine plan and purpose ; such 
a being would appear rather in the light of a curiosity, 
than as a necessary part of the divine manifestation. 
Christ was born doubtless a normal child, with the 
limitations of infancy upon him, and he was gradually 
unfolded until the fullness of divine power was 
manifested in and through him. We would, however, 
expect that even as a child he would show indica- 
tions of the wonderful powers latent within him. 
We would naturally suppose his development would 
be rapid. We would look for a child of extra- 
ordinary promise, and doubtless if in the divine wis- 
dom a picture of his childhood had been given us we 
would see a child of wonderful intelligence and extra- 
ordinary ability. The great geniuses of our race have 
usually given promise of their superior native ability, 
even in their childhood. 

2. This seemingly just expectation concerning 
Christ is justified by a glimpse that we have of him 
at the age of twelve. On one of the annual pilgrim- 
ages to Jerusalem, in company with his parents, he 
was separated from them and was not missed when 
they started on, their return journey, his parents 
thinking he was with some of the company. When 
missed, his parents returned to Jerusalem and found 
him finally in the temple in conversation with the 
learned lawyers and doctors, and exciting their won- 
der by the knowledge and wisdom that he displayed. 
This incident is cited merely to show that at this 
early age, Christ was conscious of a duty and a re- 
sponsibility far beyond what might have been ex- 



240 , THE KING OF KINGS 

pected in one of his age. When chided by his mother 
for allowing himself to be separated from them, he 
said, ''Knowest thou not that I must be about my 
Father's business?" Here we see the beginnings of 
a conscious relationship and a responsibility to the 
Father, such as might naturally be expected in the 
child Christ. 

Eighteen years passed by b)efore He came forth 
to enter upon his public ministry, but we may well 
think that during those years he continued to grow 
in wisdom and stature, as the scriptures say, and to 
quietly bide his time with this ever-increasing wis- 
dom and growing consciousness of power, which 
shows a truly divine self-restraint. This little flash- 
light upon the boy life of Jesus reveals to us some- 
thing that falls into line with just and reasonable 
expectations. 

II. The occasion of Christ's baptism. 

1. At this time Christ came forth from the ob- 
scurity of his Nazareth life, concerning which nothing 
is revealed to us, and entered upon the great work 
that he came to do. It is the beginning-point of the 
most wonderful life that the pages of history have ever 
recorded. All the way from Nazareth he had come 
to meet the harbinger John and to honor a divine 
appointment. It is a most interesting and instruct- 
ive event, and the attendant circumstances indicate 
its importance. The surprise expressed by John, thv^ 
answer of Christ, the descent of the Spirit in the 
form of a dove and the voice of God himself all 
stamp the event as one of the most striking and 
important in the life of the Master. 

2. We naturally inquire why Christ should come 
to John to be baptized by him, if baptism be taken 



OCCASION OF CHRIST'S BAPTISM 241 

as an outward sign of the washing away or cleansing 
of sin; Christ had no sin to be forgiven. If it be the 
baptism unto repentance which John preached and 
practiced, Christ had no sin to repent of. There could 
be no change of purpose with the respect to a life of 
sin, since he was without sin. John felt that there 
was something incongruous and inexplicable in the 
event when he said, 'T have need to be baptized of 
thee, and comest thou to me?" 

3. The answer of Jesus is significant; it pierces 
to the very center of the problem. He said, ''Suffer 
it now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteous- 
ness." This means to fulfill the divine requirements. 
It suggests to us that whether we can fully compre- 
hend a divine command or not, we are not on that 
account excused from it. While Jesus could not be 
baptized for the same reasons that appear in the case 
of others, yet baptism, being a divine requirement, 
must not be omitted. We are, however, not left en- 
tirely in the dark as to the reasons for this act of 
obedience on the part of Christ. He is our example 
in all things. Since the will of God is the fountain 
of peace and blessedness, he must make that will 
supreme in his life as it must be in ours. It is a 
noticeable and suggestive fact that the Father honors 
him in this act of obedience by confessing him as his 
Son in whom he is well pleased. 

. I submit that this whole scene is most fitting 
under all the circumstances. Coming as it does as the 
initial act in the public life of Christ, it meets all th^ 
demands in the case. The attitude of Christ and of 
his harbinger John calls forth our admiration, and 
disarms criticism, and the whole scene awakens 
largest expectations, which the sequel shows are not 



242 THE KING OF KINGS 

to be disappointed. On the supposition that Christ 
is the Son of God, could his conduct and words upon 
this occasion be improved upon? 

III. The temptation in the wilderness. 

1. The record says, ''Then was Jesus led up of 
the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the 
devil." This is one of the strangest, and, from the 
human standpoint, one of the most incomprehensible 
events in Christ's life, and yet when it is studied it 
yields up lessons of profoundest wisdom and practical 
importance. We may well suppose, after the events 
that occurred at the Jordan just described, that Christ 
was in the full possession of his miraculous powers. 
No miracle had yet been performed, for the scriptures 
record his first miracle after this time. Now, how- 
ever, Christ is able to perform miracles, nay, rather, 
the fullness of divine power is in his hands. As some 
one has said, there is no greater temptation that 
comes to a man than the first consciousness of the 
possession of phenomenal power. Most men are 
strongly tempted to use such power for selfish ends. 
Strong excitement under the circumstances was a 
most natural thing. May not the fasting of forty 
days and forty nights in a measure be thus explained? 
May we not reasonably suppose that Christ occupied 
this time in meditation and adjusting himself in 
thought to the consciousness of the wonderful power 
now in his hands? Having passed through the 
struggle, and having succeeded in adjusting himself 
to the wonderful fact of his possession of the full- 
ness of divine power, his human nature asserts itself 
and he is hungry. Satan, at this most opportune 
moment for his diabolical purpose, appears. 

2. The temptations that Satan presented were 



THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST 243 

comprehensive and complete ; they exhausted all the 
possibilities in the case of Christ or of any individual. 
All temptations may be classified in a broad v^ay 
under three heads. Each temptation that comes to 
man will fall in one or the other of these classes. 
First : There is temptation in the physical realm ; 
that is, to the unlawful and improper gratification of 
physical desires and appetites. Satan, knowing 
Christ's hunger, said, ''Command that these stones 
become bread ;" that is, use your extraordinary, 
phenomenal power to feed yourself — certainly a most 
reasonable thing to do under the circumstances. But 
Christ realized that this divine power had not been 
given unto him to enable him to feed himself in a 
miraculous way. There is a way to satisfy hunger 
that is legitimate and right, and extraordinary powers 
are not given for the attainment of ends that may be 
secured through the normal, ordinary powers of man. 
On this plane of the physical, many and great men 
have fallen. They have prostituted their God-given 
powers and abilities to the gratification of their 
sensuous natures. Here Christ won his first victory. 
The second temptation appealed to the love of 
glory. The love of popular applause is strong in 
many men. They will do for glory what they will 
not do for physical gratification. There are some 
who can crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts, 
who fall before the temptation to win popular favor 
and applause. Satan took Christ to the very pin- 
nacle of the temple and said, "If thou art the Son 
of God, cast thyself down : for it is written, He shall 
give his angels charge concerning thee: and, on their 
hands they shall bear thee up, lest haply thou dash 
thy foot against a stone." This is an appeal to 



244 THE KING OF KINGS 

Christ to perform wonders to excite the astonishment 
of men, to become a popular idol because of the 
exercise of such marvelous power. Christ here also 
shows himself to be invulnerable. He refused to use 
his phenomenal powers for such an end. 

The third and last possible temptation was an 
appeal to the love for power. Man will do for 
power things that he would not do for anything else. 
For the love of power men will wade through 
slaughter to a throne. For power men will trample 
their fellowmen in the dust. For power men will 
smother every feeling of human synipathy and com- 
passion. For power the darkest deeds of injustice are 
done. Satan draws his bow and shoots his last 
arrow. Causing to pass before Christ in panoramic 
view all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of 
them, he says, *'A11 these things will I give thee, if 
thou wilt fall down and worship me." Can there be 
a greater act of worship to Satan than for a man to 
use phenomenal ability for selfish acquisition of 
power? Here again Christ rises triumphant above the 
machinations of the wicked one and held his God- 
given power for the end for which it was conferred. 
Thus Christ, possessing our nature, understanding 
and feeling our infirmities, was tempted in all points 
like as we are, yet without sin. 

3. May not this be justly regarded as the great 
masterpiece of Christ? Wonderful vv^as his intellect- 
ual power! He spake as never man spake. Won- 
derful his compassion ! His heart throbbed in fullest 
sympathy with suffering men. Wonderful was his 
miracle-working power, demonstrating that he pos- 
sessed all the power of God. But his ability to hold 
this power as a gift in trust and use it for the 



THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT 245 

high ends for which it was given, and refuse to 
prostitute it to selfish uses, constitutes the very 
masterpiece of the great divine artist. Is not Christ's 
conduct throughout this whole striking scene entirely 
worthy of his high claim? On the supposition that 
he was the only begotten Son of God, is there any- 
thing lacking that the human mind can suggest? 
IV. The Sermon on the Mount. 

1. The scriptures are full of unstudied har- 
monies. Here we have an example. A speech such 
as this is too large for a pulpit of man's making. 
As we read and study this speech its greatness grows 
upon us ; we feel that there is something fitting in 
the place where it was delivered : "And seeing the 
multitude, he went up into the mountain." God built 
the pulpit and God made the speech. 

2. The manner of the Master was also royal. He 
sits as a king might do to discourse to his people. 
In fact, as we study Christ's manner and words, the 
feeling grows upon us that he is always a King. His 
invitations are royal ; there is no exclusiveness, no 
narrowness. "Whosoever will may come." His sup- 
ply is infinite. He feels no limitation; he speaks with 
a kingly voice. "Follow me," he says to Matthew ; 
"Follow me," he says to Peter and Andrew; "Follow 
me," he says to James and John. A royal command 
issued. The manner is worthy of the Master, and so 
on this occasion there is nothing lacking that the 
dignity of the situation demands. 

3. This speech is, confessedly, the greatest speech 
of all ages. The Sermon on the Mount stands at 
the summit in its intellectual and spiritual qualities 
as well as in its practical applicability. Here is the 
germ of all great speeches ; here is the quintessence 



246 THE KING OF KINGS 

of the highest statesmanship ; here is the inmost 
soul of religious thought and life. 

Let me call attention to a few points made by 
Joseph Parker in the People's Bible, Vol. on Mat- 
thew, Chapter V. 

(1) The beatitudes are inimitable; nobody has 
ever been able to utter beatitudes but Christ; not one 
additional beatitude can be imagined worthy to stand 
by the side of these. 

(2) Christ's idea is a blending of the divine and 
human. Some of the utterances look heavenward 
and some earthward. "Blessed are the poor in 
spirit," this speaks of earth. "For theirs is the king- 
dom of heaven," this looks above. "Blessed are they 
that mourn," this is human. "Blessed are the pure 
in heart," this looks Godward. 

(3) Christ's idea exalts the weak and humble. 
How different from the ideas of men. Christ said, 
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the 
meek, those who hunger." Men say, blessed are the 
rich, the influential, the mighty. 

(4) Christ connects each virtue with its own 
reward ; if we get no blessing till we acquire all the 
virtues, hope would be extinguished. 

(5) Even our enemies can be made to contribute 
to a blessed life. "Blessed are they which are per- 
secuted for righteousness sake." Thus Satan him- 
self becomes an agent in salvation. God can make 
the wrath of man, and even of Satan, to praise him. 

Other points are made by this suggestive writer, 
but it is unnecessary to dwell further upon this won- 
derful sermon which has been the admiration of the 
greatest and best in all Christian centuries. Amoyg 
all the productions of the most intellectual and sp'ir- 



THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION 247 

itual-minded men this great speech towers aloft like 
Mt. Blanc among the Alps. It still holds its place 
of supremacy, notwithstanding the advance of twenty 
centuries, and will hold that place until the end of 
time. What more is demanded than Christ has here 
given us? As we listen, as we study, as we reflect, 
the wonder grows. Our fullest expectations are 
met. 

V. The Mount of Transfiguration. 

1. Matthew's account says: ''And after six days 
Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John 
his brother, and bringeth them up into a high moun- 
tain apart ; and he was transfigured before them ; 
and his face did shine as the sun, and his garments 
became white as the light." 

The descriptions given by the other biographers 
of Christ are substantially the same. The three 
apostles who were present never forgot this won- 
derful scene. They afterwards spoke of having been 
with him in the holy mount, when he put on his 
resplendent form, and even his garments shone with 
celestial light. A photograph was made upon their 
minds that was indelible. 

2. It is interesting to notice that two representa- 
tives of the Mosaic dispensation that had passed over 
into the other world were called back to witness this 
scene. Moses, the great lawgiver of Israel, was 
summoned to behold the glorified form of his great 
antitype, and with him appeared Elijah, the great 
reformer of his people. 

The subject of conversation between Christ and 
these representatives from the other world was his 
decease that was soon to be accomplished at Jeru- 
salem, thus incidentally magnifying the central place 



248 THE KING OF KINGS 

that the cross occupies in the scene of redemption, 
and emphasizing its great importance. 

3. This event is entirely consistent with the 
time and place, and all attendant circumstances. It 
would necessarily serve to strengthen these three 
disciples for the trying ordeal through which they 
were soon to pass, and thus enable them to 
strengthen others ; and may we not say, in view of 
the fact that Christ wore our humanity, that he 
needed strength for the supreme trial of his life to 
which he was hastening, and would not this be cal- 
culated to fortify him for Gethsemane, Pilate's judg- 
ment hall and the cross? 

4. The utterance of the Father on this occasion 
constitutes the most significant part of the circum- 
stance. In the presence of Moses, who had given the 
law; in the presence of Israel's greatest reformer, 
representing that great prophet class of the chosen 
people, and in the presence of Peter, James and John 
his chosen disciples, God said, ''This is my beloved 
Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." 
This is equivalent to saying, ''You have heard Moses, 
the giver of the law; you have heard the great 
prophets of Israel, who have urged obedience to the 
law ; now, from this time henceforth, hear ye him." 
Does not this scene fall beautifully into line with 
all the rest that is recorded of the Christ and is it 
not justified and warranted by his claim? 

VI. Christ's meeting with the woman of Samaria 
at Jacob's well. 

Perhaps there is no circumstance in the life of 
Christ that is suggestive of practical lessons of greater 
importance than this. Christ with his disciples had 
been walking under a hot Palestine sun until noon- 



CHRIST AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA 249 

day, and they had finally arrived at Jacob's well. 
Christ rested at the well while his disciples went to 
the town of Sychar near at hand, to buy food. A 
woman of the town came to draw water and found 
Christ waiting at the well. Christ entered into con- 
versation with her and presently delivered unto her 
one of the most wonderful lessons that he ever 
uttered. I wish to call attention to certain great 
practical truths that I once heard brought out by 
the late and lamented Robert Moffett. 

1. Jesus did not allow the weakness of the flesh 
to interfere with his mission and work. He v\^as 
hungry and thirsty and weary, yet the coming of a 
needy soul called forth the best that he had to give. 

2. Jesus did not allow the nationality of the 
woman to hinder his work. The Samaritans were a 
mongrel people, the descendants of the scattered 
Jews who remained in the land at the time of the 
deportation and the heathen colonists that came in. 
This people of mixed blood were despised by the 
Jews, and a great barrier of separation grew up 
between the two peoples. They were hostile to each 
other on political, social and religious grounds, yet 
Jesus seemed to have no feeling of separation, show- 
ing himself superior to the prejudices that divide 
men. 

3. Christ did not stop in his work because the 
woman was not his social equal. She was a very 
wicked woman ; she had had five husbands and was 
living with a man who was not her husband. Jesus 
knew this fact through his prophetic power, and yet 
her social and moral degradation presented no bar- 
rier to him. He saw a lost and needy soul, and his 
heart went out in sympathy and in love. 



250 THE KING OF KINGS 

4. Lack of appreciation did not hinder Christ 
in his work. This poor, ignorant, sinful woman 
showed little capacity to appreciate Christ. When 
he spoke of giving her the water, of which, if she 
would drink, she would never thirst any more, she 
thought he spoke of the physical water, and won- 
dered how he could give her this water since the 
well was deep and he had nothing with which to 
draw. This ignorance and lack of understanding 
did' not discourage the Master, but he proceeded to 
pour forth his wonderful teaching with his usual 
earnestness and enthusiasm. He saw after all that 
her mistake grew out of the fact that she did not 
understand who it was that spoke unto her. 

5. Christ's inimitable skill as a teacher was here 
manifested. He said to the woman, "Go call your 
husband." This seemed to be an entire change of 
the subject, but it drew forth from the woman a 
reply which enabled Christ to reveal himself. She 
said, "I have no husband," whereupon Christ replied, 
''You have had five husbands, and the one whom 
thou now hast is not thy husband." Instantly she 
exclaimed, 'T perceive that thou art a prophet." 
Then, true to the instincts of human nature, in 
which the religious factor is always strong, she 
asked Christ to settle the religious controversy be- 
tween Jews and Samaritans as to the true place of 
worship. Christ said, ''Jerusalem is the true place, 
but the time cometh. and now is, when men will 
neither worship in this mountain, nor yet in Jeru- 
salem" (as exclusive places), "but they that worship 
the Father will worship him in spirit and in truth." 
Wonderful teaching this, and the method discloses 
the utmost skill. 



CHRIST PROPHESIES HIS DEATH 251 

6. Christ did not allow the sniallness of the op- 
portunity to interfere with his work. Truly the 
opportunity, from a human standpoint, looked small. 
One person only constituted his audience, and she 
a very wicked and ignorant person. But to Christ 
no opportunity was small. Every chance to help a 
soul was great in his eyes, and even one wicked 
woman could cause him to forget his hunger and 
thirst and weakness, and inspire him to pour forth 
his great wealth of instruction. 

In all this wonderful circumstance, has Christ 
not set us an example worthy of our imitation ; has 
he not acted in a manner befitting a God? May we 
not say that this whole event falls into perfect har- 
mony with his wonderful claim ? 

VII. The declaration of Christ to his disciples 
that he must go up to Jerusalem and be put to death. 

1. Immediately after Christ's conversation with 
his disciples, when Peter made the great confession, 
the record says : "From that time began Jesus to 
show unto his disciples that he must go unto Jeru- 
salem and sufifer many things of the elders, chief 
priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day 
be raised up ; and Peter began to rebuke him, saying. 
Be it far from thee. Lord ; this shall never be unto 
thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee 
behind me, Satan ; thou art a stumbling-block unto 
me, for thou mindest not the things of God, but the 
things of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, 
If any man shall come after me, let him deny him- 
self and take up his cross and follow me, for who- 
soever shall save his life shall lose it, and whosoever 
shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what 
shall a man be profited if he shall gain the whole 



252 THE KING OF KINGS 

world and lose his life? Or, what shall a man get in 
exchange for his life? For the Son of man shall 
come in the glory of his Father with his angels ; 
and then shall he render unto every man according 
to his deeds." 

This incident is interesting, not only on account 
of the light in which it presents Jesus, but because 
it reveals the fact that his disciples entirely mis- 
understood him and had an utter misconception of 
his work and mission. When Jesus told them that 
he must go up to Jerusalem and be put to deaths 
and Peter told him, "This shall never be," Jesus 
rebuked the ardent disciple and said, ''Get thee be- 
hind me, adversary, for thou art a stumbling-block 
unto me." Here Jesus again shows an entire sub- 
mission to the will of God, which indeed character- 
ized his whole life, and when he was rapidly ap- 
proaching the cross he went steadily forward, without 
shrinking, rebuking any opposition that stood in the 
way. His very life consisted in accomplishing the 
ends for which he came. This was his very soul. 
He did not waver in the presence of death because 
that very death was in the plan of God, and the 
supreme event in the work that he came to perform. 
Peter said. Turn aside, escape the cross. This is 
human. Jesus said, No, this is the work that I came 
to do, this is my life, this is the reason for my in- 
carnation. What would it profit a man, if he should 
gain the whole world and forfeit the very end of his 
being? 

2. Jesus makes this the occasion for the state- 
ment of a great principle. "Whosoever will save his 
life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life 
for my sake will find it." This is a very profound 



STATEMENT OF A GREAT FRINCIPEE 253 

utterance, and shows the deep insight of Christ. The 
principle here laid down holds good in every field 
of human endeavor. Man, in fact, leads a double 
life ; one is inward, the other outward. A man ma}^ 
seek ease and comfort and pleasure, or he may seek 
inward peace and joy and approval of his own con- 
science. To save the outward is to lose the inward 
and vice versa. The student who seeks ease and 
pleasure and freedom from hardship, sacrifices his 
true development, and consequently inward peace 
and joy. The business man who shuns labor and 
toil and courts ease and comfort, sacrifices success 
and the approval of his conscience. The principle 
here laid down by Christ is world-wide in its appli- 
cation. Great lessons take their rise here that might 
very profitably be set forth, but such does not fall 
within the plan that we had in view in introducing 
this incident. We wish merely to show that Christ 
upon this occasion acted in a manner worthy of his 
high claim, and the great principles that he enun- 
ciated are worthy of the divine wisdom that he 
always manifested. 

VIII. The words of comfort that Christ spoke 
to his disciples as he was nearing the cross. 

1. As we would naturally expect, the disciples 
were much troubled in view of the perils surround- 
ing their Lord. While they did not, even at this 
time, fully realize that his death was near, yet there 
was sufficient in all the circumstances to awaken 
alarm and fill them with sorrow. Judas had gone 
out to betray his Lord, as Christ very well knew. 
The sorrows of Gethsemane, the horrors of Pilate's 
judgment hall, the insults of the rabble, and the 
agonies of the cross were all vividly present in his 



254 THE KING OF KINGS 

mind. He saw it all in the most vivid manner. The 
coming events had cast their shadov^s before and the 
disciples Avere filled with anxiety. 

2. Now notice the conduct of the Master. He 
seems to be utterly oblivious to his own sorrows. 
The trying scene rapidly approaching was apparently 
lost sight of. His whole soul goes out in anxiety 
for his disciples, for he knew their weakness and the 
great sorrow that would presently overwhelm them, 
therefore he devoted himself to the giving of con- 
solation and comfort to those he loved so well. 
Peter was about to deny him, and the others would 
flee in cowardly fear. All would lose their faith. 
Christ saw all this with the utmost clearness, yet 
his sorrow was not for himself, but for them. He 
said, "Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God, 
believe also in me. In my Father's house are many 
mansions ; if it were not so I would have told you, 
for I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and 
prepare a place for you, I come again and receive 
you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be 
also." Here is unselfishness and undying love, 
worthy of the Son of God. 

This same line of thought might be followed in 
studying Christ in the garden, as he stood before 
Caiaphas and Pilate and Herod ; as he deported 
himself during the agonies of the cross; but I shrink 
from the attempt to adequately portray these scenes. 
This has been done by tongue and pen far more 
worthily and adequately than I can do it. His con- 
duct and bearing during these supreme hours of his 
life compelled even the indifferent Roman soldiers 
to say, "Truly, this was the Son of God." 

IX. The giving of the commission. 



THE GIVING OF THE COMMISSION 256 

1. This is after all the supreme event in the 
life of the Master. Everything else leads up to this ; 
for this God had been preparing through the ages. 
Long lines of preparation culminated at this point. 
When Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach 
the gospel to the whole creation," he uttered the 
words for which the ages had waited. With this 
wonderful command a new movement sets up. The 
divine work begins that shall never end until a 
redeemed world is brought back to the bosom of 
the Father. Now begins that for which all pre- 
vious divine effort had been merely preparatory. 
Now were uttered the words that authorized the 
establishment of the kingdom of grace and glory, 
Avhose benefits and blessings are intended for all 
men. 

2. I ask, Did the words of Christ on this occa- 
sion measure up to the demands of the situation, and 
are they worthy of his wonderful claims? Listen. 
''All authority in heaven and on earth is given unto 
me." Such words are permissible only from the lips 
of Divinity itself! Uttered by a mere man, they 
would be the rankest blasphemy. And notice that 
Jesus did not utter these words until he had given 
the supreme test of his divinity in his resurrection 
from the dead. Having declared that all authority 
in heaven and on earth is committed unto him, he 
makes this the basis for the great commission to his 
disciples. ''Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations; 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the 
Son, and the Holy Spirit." 

I submit that if Jesus Christ had not been divine, 
this language would have overwhelmed him in shame 
and confusion, yea, in utter defeat, long ages since. 



256 THE KING OF KINGS 

Such an utterance, if he were not divine, would have 
buried him beyond the possibility of resurrection. 

Are we not, therefore, compelled to say that Jesus 
Christ uniformly spoke and acted in a manner worthy 
of his claim to divinity? Yea, more, do not his deeds 
and teachings perfectly harmonize with the state- 
ment, *'He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father"? 

I can not refrain from the introduction of one 
more scene as a conclusion to this chapter. 

X. The ascension and coronation of Christ. 

1. It is said that Jesus, having loved his own, 
loved them until the last, and he took them with 
him to the Mount of Olives, where he ascended in 
their presence. As they stood gazing up at the 
ascending Lord, a company of angels appeared and 
said, '*Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up 
into heaven? That same Jesus that you have seen 
ascending will in like manner come again." Yes, he 
will come in like manner, and yet it will not be in 
the same manner. He will not come as a babe born 
in Bethlehem's manger; he will not come to live his 
weary, sad life, enduring suffering, misrepresenta- 
tion, persecution and death, but he will come accom^ 
panied by heavenly hosts to take vengeance on 
them that know not God and obey not the gospel 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yea, he w411 come to 
make up his jewels and take his ransomed people 
home. 

2. As He nears the gates of the Eternal City, 
through the prophecy of David we are permitted 
to know what transpired. The command went forth : 

"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted 
up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall 
come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord 



THE ASCENSION AND CORONATION 257 

strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift 
up your heads, O ye gates ; even lift them up, ye 
everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come 
in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, 
he is the King of glory." 

Then Jesus took his seat upon the mediatorial 
throne, and God declared that he should reign until 
all enemies were put under his feet. 

3. I submit that this, and this only, is a fitting 
climax to Christ's wonderful life. From the begin- 
ning he had been going up. He began life in a 
manger; when he appeared in the temple at the age 
of twelve he stood on higher ground; at thirty, when 
he came to be baptized of John, he was higher still ; 
step by step he ascended, until on Calvary he poured 
forth his life for the salvation of a world ; higher 
still he stood when he gave his great commission, and 
then there was nothing left but to ascend and demand 
entrance at the gate of heaven. The ascending Jesus 
has drawn the eyes of his followers in all the ages 
heavenward, and filled them with the expectation that 
at last they too shall ascend with him and so be for- 
ever with the Lord. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Argument Based on Christ's Achieve- 
ments. ^ 

In Chapter XIII. this subject has been, in a meas- 
ure, dealt with. The fruits of the dominant thoughts 
of Christ were there set forth, but it seems to be 
the logical and fitting thing to devote the closing 
chapter to the achievements of Christ. But inasmuch 
as the subject has been already partially dealt with, 
this chapter must be in part a recapitulation, and in 
part an enlargement upon that theme. At most, it 
can be but a mere summary, for to deal with the 
achievements of Christ would require volumes rather 
than a brief chapter. 

1. This is a very practical age. The world de- 
mands results and is not so much concerned with 
the philosophy of things, or with doctrinal Chris- 
tianity, as was formerly the case. Men now demand 
of every system practical achievements. They ask 
what is being accomplished for the benefit of men. 
Christianity, as has been previously stated, must 
consent to be judged by this rule, nor does it shrink 
from this test. If Christ can not hold his place by 
virtue of his achievements, then he is destined to 



* In the preparation of this chapter T have found the follow- 
ing works very helpful : The "Witness of History to Christ/' 
Farrar; the "Divine Origin of Christianity," Storrs ; "Gesta 
Christi," C. Loring Brace; "Christianity Triumphant," Newman, 
and "Problems of Religious Progress," Dorchester. 
258 



TRIUMPH OVER OPPOSING POWERS 259 

final overthrow. Happity, however, it is just here 
where Christ can make his strongest defense. The 
achievements of Christ are so notable, so numerous 
and so beneficent that they give to him the pre- 
eminence beyond the possibility of a doubt. Our at- 
tention will first be directed to : 

I. Christ's triumph over opposing powers. 

As judged from the human standpoint, Christian- 
ity had no chance of success ; it had none of the 
accessories of power upon which men rely. Its 
Founder was a despised Nazarene, opposed by the 
political and religious forces of his time. His fol- 
lowers were drawn from the uninfluential classes. He 
had no material rewards to offer, and he boldly said 
that those who enlisted in his cause must do so at 
the sacrifice of all things that men hold dear, and 
even in the very face of death itself. But this 
a priori view is discredited by the facts that history 
furnishes us from the day that the King was inau- 
gurated down to the present time. The history of 
Christianity is a record of repeated and continued 
triumphs over its enemies. Each century has wit- 
nessed decided progress in the advancement of 
Christ's kingdom, and the last century has seen a 
greater advance than was witnessed in all other cen- 
turies combined. These facts demonstrate the wis- 
dom of Gamaliel, who when his countrymen were 
about to put to death Peter and John for teaching in 
the name of Jesus, said, "Refrain from these men 
and let them alone, for if this counsel or this work 
be of men it will be overthrown, but if it is of God 
ye will not be able to overthrow them ; lest happily 
ye be found even to be fighting against God." If we 
may judge by the effect, we may conclude that those 



260 THE KING OF KINGS 

who have fought against Christianity have fought 
against God. Jesus Christ, on one occasion, said, 
"'Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not 
planted shall be rooted up." The opposition has been 
trying to root up Christianity for nineteen hundred 
years, but to-day the plant is stronger and more 
vigorous than at any previous time. Does not this 
raise a strong presumption that this plant has been 
planted by the heavenly Father? Paul declared that 
"the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the 
weakness of God stronger than men," and the Chris- 
tianity he preached furnished a striking illustration 
of the truth he uttered. He also declared, *'We 
preach Christ crucified, unto Jew^s a stumbling-block, 
tmto Gentiles foolishness ; but unto them that are 
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of 
God, and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:23, 24). 

To the Jews the cross was a horror, and to the 
Gentiles the resurrection was a matter of ridicule, 
and yet these repulsive doctrines became, in the wis- 
dom of God, the transforming power that has revo- 
lutionized the world. When we consider the despised 
doctrines that were preached, and the insignificant 
instrumentalities laid hold upon in the divine wisdom 
for the promotion of the kingdom, and then on the 
other side take into account the stupendous powers 
arrayed against this new faith, we feel that the 
unequal contest must result in its speedy and utter 
overthrow. 

1. In enumerating some of the forces arrayed 
against Christianity, Judaism at once arrests our 
attention.* The apostle John declared of Christ that 



*The "Witness of History to Christ," by Farrar, elaborates 
this and the following points very fully. 



FORCES ARRAYED AGAINST CHRIST . 2G1 

"He came unto his own, and they that were his own 
received him not." This is one of the strange, sad 
things connected with the advent of our Lord. When 
we consider the minute specifications of the Hebrew 
prophets concerning the incidents of the Christ life, 
his character, his offices and his kingdom, and see 
how completely these specifications were met, we 
fail to see how Christ's own people could have failed 
to identify him, whatever might have been true of 
the Gentiles, who were unfamiliar with the Jewish 
scriptures ; but, alas, the wonderful picture, drawn 
of him by Hebrew prophets, to which Christ so fully 
corresponded, was not recognized, owing to the 
blindness of prejudice. Christ met a determined foe 
in Judaism ; indeed, one of his bitterest and most 
uncompromising enemies, and even after the king- 
dom was established this foe crept into the church 
and constituted a perpetual menace to its peace and 
prosperity, Judaism without, and Judaizing teachers 
in the church, have bitterly opposed Christianity from 
the beginning down to the present time ; but with 
what result? It may have retarded the progress of 
the kingdom to some extent — any opposing force 
might do that much — but it has never been able to 
arrest its progress. Steadily the kingdom has ad- 
vanced, notwithstanding the opposition of those who 
ought to have been its staunchest advocates and 
supporters. While, as a whole, Judaism has been 
against Christianity, multitudes of Jews have been 
led to accept Christ as their true Messiah. His vic- 
tories have been extending and widening among his 
own people. God grant that the day may not be 
distant when the prophecy of Paul will be realized, 
*'And so all Israel shall be saved." 



262 THE KING OF KINGS 

2. But strong and bitter and persistent as the 
opposition of Judaism has been, yet in paganism 
Christianity encountered even a stronger foe. The 
gods of Olymphus have not consented to give up 
the struggle without a fierce contest. During the 
early centuries of the Christian era, paganism mani- 
fested its hatred by every form of bitter persecution 
that diabolical cunning and cruelty could invent. We 
stand aghast at the persecution of the Christians 
under the reign of Nero, whose very name has 
become a synonym of wickedness and cruelty in their 
most hideous forms. The very purity that was wit- 
nessed in the lives of Christians was an offense 
against paganism of the most unpardonable kind, and 
this is one of the most amazing spectacles that 
Christianity presents. In the face of death she con- 
demned in scathing terms the practices of heathen 
temples, the games of the amphitheater, where human 
beings were sacrificed by the thousand for the de- 
lectation of the crowd. She lifted up her voice 
against the corrupt practices of heathen worship, and 
ceased not to cry out against the great national sins 
which were eating the very vitals out of the Roman 
Empire, yet, incredible as it may seem, Christianity 
gradually triumphed over the combined forces of 
paganism, and at last seated a Christian emperor 
upon the throne of the Caesars. A Julian, the last of 
pagan emperors, was compelled to exclaim, "O Gal- 
lilean, thou hast conquered." As Canon Farrar 
shows, paganism presented three forms of resistance. 
It tried an eclectic religion, bringing what it sup- 
posed was the best from Egypt and Phrygia. This 
was denominated neo-paganism, but as a rival re- 
ligion it went down before the religion of the Naz- 



FORCES ARRAYED AGAINST CHRIST 263 

arene. In the second place, she laid philosophy under 
tribute, and argument and elocjuence were called into 
play. False gospels and false miracles were invented, 
and everything possible was done to match Chris- 
tianity on its own ground. Sarcasm and invective 
from skillful tongues were poured out against the 
hated religion, but all in vain. Christianity met its op- 
ponent at every point and conquered. Last of all, 
paganism fell back upon brute force ; rows of burn- 
ing Christians were used as torches to light the 
gardens of Nero ; the great men of the church, its 
very pillars of strength and power, were put to death 
under legal sanctions. For centuries the battle 
waged, but without avail to paganism. It went down 
in the struggle, showing that those who fight against 
God, fight a losing battle.. 

3. The next enemy that Christianity had to en- 
counter grew up within the church. Triumphant 
without, she had yet to meet a terrible foe within in 
the shape of heresies or false doctrines. Sects and 
schisms in various forms were promulgated by mis- 
taken or ambitious leaders. Trivial, unconsequential 
points of doctrine were magnified to the disruption 
of the church. Mountains grew out of molehills, 
but through it all Christianity came out triumphant ; 
while many apostatized, or were deceived and mis- 
led, yet the masses remained true to the doctrines 
and precepts of the Master. One by one the heresies 
were eradicated, and the factions overcome, and the 
victory over internal enemies was no less complete 
than that over the external foes mentioned. 

4. Now arose another great outward enemy. 
When the hordes of barbarians swept down over the 
Roman Empire, threatening its destruction, it would 



264 THE KING OF KINGS 

seem that Christianity must share the fate of polit- 
ical Rome, but when the conflict was over it was 
seen that Christianity had outridden the storm. Her 
doctrines of peace and good will had softened the 
hearts of her fierce adversaries, and she had con- 
quered the very foe that had been too powerful for 
the mistress of the world. Northward Christianity 
spread, levying its tribute of redeemed souls from 
the tribes of Germany, and even from the inhabitants 
of far-away Britain. 

5. Another great danger at this time arose. A 
great power began to develop, religious and secular 
in its nature, mingling the great Bible doctrines with 
sensual doctrines that appeal to the lower nature of 
man. Its career of conquest was marked not by 
argument, not by the peaceful means that Christian- 
ity employed, but by the sword. But, like all other 
opposing powers, it has long since spent its force. 
The doctrines and life that characterized Christianity 
stand in such marked contrast with the sensualism 
of Islam, that the former has become the religion of 
civilization, intelligence and progress, while the latter 
is confined to barbarous or semi-civilized races. Slow 
decay has settled upon the nations dominated by 
Mohammedanism, while the nations over which Christ 
wields the scepter constitute the vanguard of progress 
among the nations of the earth. 

6. Modern heathenism has shown itself utterly 
unable to resist Christianity. Hopeless as the strug- 
gle might seem to be, the indications are that Chris- 
tianity is destined to achieve a complete victory. Its 
missionaries have set up its standards among all 
nations of the earth, even among the degraded tribes 
of the islands of the sea. Everywhere Christianity 



FORCES ARRAYED AGAINST CHRIST 2G5 

speaks with the voice of authority. Men of every 
condition are receptive to its message. Its fruits are 
witnessed on every hand, and it is only a question of 
time until Christ shall reign ''from sea to sea and 
from the river to the ends of the earth." 

7. The seventh enemy is modern infidelity, both 
within and without the church. Without stands the 
infidelity of Hume, Voltaire, Tom Paine and Inger- 
soll. Its arguments are familiar, and they have been 
triumphantly answered a thousand times. No new 
arguments have been advanced within a century. 
There has been rehashing;- of the old infidel tirades 
with which some of the shallow and unthinking have 
been carried away, but the victory over this enemy 
has been won. From this source Christianity has 
nothing more to fear. Destructive criticism is, how- 
ever, a more dangerous foe. The attacks of the 
destructive school of critics upon the Bible have 
not been few or unskillful. These opponents have 
succeeded in destroying the faith of some and 
emasculating the faith of others, so as to make them 
perfectly worthless in the kingdom of God, and 
unfortunately a few so-called Christian critics have 
imagined that they can embrace the doctrines of the 
destructive school, in somewhat modified forms, with- 
out the surrender of Christian faith, but their influ- 
ence has in every case been destructive. 

We believe, however, that the battle against this 
partially internal foe has been practically v/on. Such 
conservative scholars as Green, Bissell, Anderson, 
McGarvey and others have triumphantly answered 
every position of the destructive school, and until 
their arguments are successfully met, there is really 
no need for further debate. A few years ago the 



266 THE KING OF KINGS 

situation looked much more serious than it does at 
the present time. The indications are that this hos- 
tile movement, for it certainly is hostile, whether the 
intention is so or not, has been checked. Many of 
those who were disturbed in their faith are swinging" 
back again to safe, conservative ground, and thus, it 
seems, this last, and in some respects most insidious, 
attack upon Christianity, has spent its force. What 
the next enemy will be we may not be able to foresee ; 
possibly mammonism is its name, for this is certainly 
a foe of Christianity and one of the most character- 
istic features of our present-day civilization. But, 
thank God, there is an ever-increasing host who are 
setting their faces against this influence, so destruc- 
tive to Christian principle, and in view of the vic- 
tories already won we may confidently predict that 
Christianity will triumph over all her present and 
future foes, and wield the scepter over a redeemed 
world. 

8. The last opposing force with which Christian- 
ity has had to contend, consists of the sectarianism 
which has divided the church and hindered its prog- 
ress more than all other forces combined ; although, 
paradoxical as it may seem, the progress of the 
church has been very largely accomplished through 
the various sectarian organizations into which Chris- 
tianity has been divided. But the progress has been 
so slow as compared with what it might have been, 
and would have been had the church been united, 
that sectarianism may be denominated as a foe of the 
Church of Christ. Our own observation shows us 
that the sectarianism of the religious world is its 
greatest weakness. If Christianity presented a united 
front against its enemies, the final victory of Christ 



BENEFITS CHRIST HAS BESTOWED 267 

could not be long delayed. However, the indications 
at the present time are that the bitterness of sectism 
is gradually passing away and the spirit of fraternity 
and brotherhood is rapidly gaining among the relig- 
ious bodies of the day. When the union for which 
Christ prayed shall have become accomplished, then 
the blessed consummation of a redeemed world will 
not be far away. God speed the day. 

II. The benefits and blessings that Christ has 
conferred.* 

Under this head very little more than a summary 
is needed, since many of the points have been pre- 
viously elaborated. 

1. We will first recount the political results that 
the Church of Christ has achieved. 

(1) The universal slavery that cursed the world 
when Christ came has well-nigh disappeared. It is 
impossible for this institution to exist where Chris- 
tian principles are allowed to work out their legiti- 
mate fruits. 

(2) Liberty is rapidly becoming the heritage of 
men. The problem of popular government is becom- 
ing successfully worked out in the United States and 
republican forms of government are being established 
in other countries, and even under monarchial forms 
of government the rights of the people are being safe- 
guarded by charter and constitution. 

(3) The sentiment for universal peace through- 
out the world is rapidly growing. The mutual rights 
of nations are becoming quite generally recognized, 
and the indications are that war will soon be abol- 
ished by the mutual consent of nations, and general 
disarmament will ensue. 



*See Chapter XIII. 



268 THE KING OF KINGS 

2. The effect of Christianity on mental culture 
is one of its most obvious fruits. In those nations 
where Christianity has taken on its largest forms, 
and in which its best development has been secured, 
the highest intellectual culture is witnessed. In these 
nations literature flourishes most, the trades and pro- 
fessions of men are most effectively practiced, and the 
highest degree of intelligence is maintained. A greater 
stimulus is given to invention, and a more rapid 
advance in the arts and sciences is manifested in 
Christian lands. The idea of popular education orig- 
inated, and flourishes best, in Christian lands. All 
intellectual pursuits have taken on their highest and 
best forms under the stimulating effects of Chris- 
tianity. In short, Christianity has been the parent 
of material and intellectual progress. 

Those lands to which Christianity has not gone 
have remained on a standstill for centuries, or have 
retrograded, which shows that they lack the regen- 
erating and stimulating influences that Christian 
nations enjoy. 

3. The effect of Christianity upon the general 
moral life of nations is also very noticeable. 

(1) The fearful ravages of intemperance, which 
has been the curse of northern nations in particular, 
are being materially reduced through prohibitory law 
and by means of scientific instruction as to the de- 
structive effects of alcoholic drinks, and this educa- 
tional process has been fostered and propagated 
largely through Christian organizations. 

(2) The standards of personal purity are be- 
coming very much elevated. Habits and customs 
that were once very common are now shocking to 
the general moral sense of the people. 



BENEFITS CHRIST HAS BESTOWED 2G9 

(3) Gambling in all of its forms is becoming 
obnoxious to the best people everywhere. 

(4) The social evil is being put under ban as 
never before, and equal standards of virtue are being 
demanded of both sexes. 

4. The reasons for the effect of Christianity on 
the general progress of the race are manifest. That 
Christianity has been a great stimulus to the prog- 
ress of mankind, can not be doubted by every one 
who will give the matter thoughtful consideration. 
Several things contribute to this end. 

(1) Christianity inspires hope, and hope is a 
potent factor in human progress. Without hope 
there is no advance, but to the hopeful all things are 
possible. The hope of Christianity pertains not 
simply to the world to come, but very largely to the 
life that now is, and consequently it becomes the 
very mainspring in human achievement. 

(2) With Christianity the golden age lies before, 
and in this it presents a striking contrast to the 
dominant thought of the world into which Christ 
was born, upon which had settled down gloom, de- 
spondency and despair. With that world the highest 
and best things lay in the past, and nothing better 
than that which had been was dreamed of. There 
was no large expectation for the future of the race. 
This despair and gloom, which is revealed in the 
writings of sages and poets, was fatal to human 
progress. 

(3) The high ideals of manhood, growing out of 
the inherent greatness and high origin of man, can 
but result in lifting man up to higher and higher 
planes of character and of consequent power and 
achievement. 

(19) 



270 THE KING OF KINGS 

5. The social effects of Christianity are of the 
most blessed character. 

(1) Woman has been lifted up from a condition 
of slavery and social degradation to be the very peer 
of men. Gradually the shackles that have hitherto 
hindered her progress have been removed. Little by 
little, under the beneficent effects of Christianity, she 
has come into the position that God designed her to 
occupy. She is the queen of the home, the real com- 
panion of her husband and the guardian of her chil- 
dren. In the church she is coming to occupy a large 
place. In the social circles she is the saving, sanc- 
tifying power, and even in business and professional 
life she is showing her God-given powers and abil- 
ities by efficient service. The elevation of woman 
has been the transforming power in the social life of 
the world, and this is to be credited to Christianity, 
because in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor 
female, but all are one. 

(2) The Christian home has become the unit of 
national life in all advanced civilizations. The nation 
is composed of homes in which father, mother, 
brothers and sisters dwell in love and unity, and 
with mutual support and helpfulness. The home 
under Christian influence is a unique institution and 
the very type of heaven itself. Polygamy and con- 
cubinage are rapidly disappearing under the benef- 
icent effect of the religion of Christ. 

(3) The neighborliness which exists in all Chris- 
tian communities is the direct fruit of Christian life. 
When Christ taught that our neighbor is the one 
who needed our help, he stated a principle that has 
had much to do in forming and molding the social 
life of the Christian world. 



BENEFITS CHRIST HAS BESTOWED 271 

6. This summary would be incomplete without 
notice of the eleemosynary effect of Christianity. 

(1) The bloody shows of the Roman amphi- 
theater have long since disappeared in truly Chris- 
tian lands. It is impossible for people saturated with 
Christian sentiment to gloat and glor}- in human tor- 
ture and misery. Christ has abolished all such man- 
dishonoring spectacles. 

(2) The custom of infanticide, so prevalent 
among the ancient Romans, meets with the severest 
condemnation in all Christian lands. The destruc- 
tion of female children in particular prevailed to an 
alarming extent when Christ was born into the 
world, and deformed children of both sexes were 
ruthlessly destroyed. All this is being changed 
under the beneficent influences of the religion of 
Christ. 

(3) Hospitals, homes for the friendless, asylums 
for the unfortunate spring up as if by magic, in Chris- 
tian lands. Instead of destroying the unfortunate, 
Christian nations hold everything sacred in the form 
of humanity and provide for the needy at public ex- 
pense, which is supplemented largely by Christian 
benevolences in all Christian countries. 

(4) The Red Cross movement, and similar in- 
stitutions, have done much to relieve human suffer- 
ing in times of war, and wherever great calamities 
fall upon the people. 

(5) Even prison reform has become a movement 
of no small importance. Those who have called 
down upon themselves, through their crimes, the 
condemnation of the law are not forgotten, but 
everything possible is done to reform and restore 



272 THE KING OF KINGS 

them to the society from which they have been cast 
out. 

(6) Ample provision is being made to provide 
for those unfortunate ones who have gone down in 
the unequal struggle of life and are no longer able 
to provide for themselves necessary physical com- 
forts. 

In short, Christian people are saying everywhere 
nothing that pertains to humanity, or its needs, is a 
matter of indifference to us. 

This brief and imperfect summary will at least 
afiford a glimpse of the wonderful achievements of 
Christ. If we adopt the motto, "Let him be King 
who can do the most for m.en," then Christ occupies 
the throne without a single rival. He stands pre- 
eminent as the servant of mankind, thus receiving 
the priority by the very principle that he himself 
laid down to govern his followers. Men may dispute 
the claims of Christ on philosophic grounds, but on 
practical grounds, there is no room for debate. 
Christ stands alone, towering above all others like 
the mountain above the plain. 

As long as practical results of the most benef- 
icent kind shall claim the chief place in the esteem 
and approval of man, so long Christ will hold the 
chief place in the love of mankind. Before this 
Jesus we may bow down in reverence and adoration 
and say, "Thou art the Son of the living God; reign 
thou over us as our King and Redeemer." 

THE END. 



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